Firefighters work in a forest fire area on the hills of the town of Quilpue in the Valparaíso region of Chile on February 3, 2024.
Javier Torres | AFP | Getty Images
A quiet revolution is underway to address a widely underestimated climate challenge: extreme heat.
In recent years, local authorities have appointed several Chief Heat Officers (CHOs) in cities around the world to prepare residents for increasingly frequent and severe heat spells.
“They call it the silent killer,” said Eleni Myrivili, global chief CHO for the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, who previously held a similar position in Athens, the Greek capital.
Miriveli said she believes the heat is often overlooked Because it lacks the obvious drama of roofs being torn off or streets turning into rivers.
“I believe from the bottom of my heart that heat is going to be the number one public health challenge we have to deal with over the next decade. We need to prepare for it now,” Milivili told CNBC via video conference. “We can — but We really need to make this a priority.”
The heat is Major weather-related killers In the U.S data More than 1,700 people will die from heat in 2022, about double the number five years ago, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Researchers have explain These are likely conservative estimates.
Most people don’t know that extreme heat kills more people in Australia than bushfires, floods and storms. There’s a reason for this, and that’s data lag.
Tiffany Crawford
Joint Chief Heating Officer, Melbourne, Australia
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definition Extreme heat, where summer temperatures are significantly above average and/or wetter.
The elderly, young children, and those with chronic medical conditions are considered to be those most at risk for heat-related illness, such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke. The CDC warns that even young and healthy people can be affected.
Miami, USA
Jane Gilbert is the first person in the world to be appointed CHO when she was appointed in 2021 to run Miami-Dade County, Florida’s most populous county.
“We have relatively high (air conditioning) penetration, but as the temperatures rise, the electricity bill goes through the roof. Our electricity prices go up. Air conditioning can account for more than 50 percent of the electricity bill, so people,” Gilbert told CNBC, They choose between air conditioning and providing food for their families.
Miami is a coastal metropolis in the southern United States known around the world for its vulnerability. Sea-level rise and hurricane. Yet Gilbert said community-led surveys have found chronic high temperatures to be the most pressing climate issue.
A view of the Miami Bay Entrance Channel in Miami, Florida during a heat wave on June 26, 2023.
George Vieira | AFP | Getty Images
Gilbert said temperatures in Miami exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32.2 degrees Celsius) almost every day for six months of the year, which is a particular problem for outdoor workers.
Gilbert said that to help reduce the risk to the county’s 2.7 million people, her team’s action plan focuses on educating people about and preparing for extreme heat, helping to cost-effectively cool homes and working to Neighborhoods cool down to address so-called “heat island effect“——The temperature in cities is much higher than that in nearby rural areas.
In practice, Gilbert said, these include a massive marketing campaign targeting ZIP codes and demographics known to be most at risk, working with the National Weather Service and emergency management teams to update advisories and warning levels. They also involve installing 1,700 high-efficiency air conditioning units in public housing and ensuring that new affordable housing requires the most efficient cooling systems, such as cooling and solar roofs, to reduce utility costs.
“We hope to address the root causes of this problem while helping people adapt,” Gilbert said.
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Bushra Afreen, CHO of Dhaka North District, Bangladesh, told CNBC: “All of us here grew up in a typical hot and humid environment. We are used to the heat, so it is difficult to distinguish between normal high temperatures and unsafe temperatures.” via video conferencing.
Afrin, who became Dhaka North’s CHO in May last year, said high income inequality in the country’s largest city means high temperatures are not a common experience.
“When you combine that with fragile urban systems like drainage and power outages and poor health management, poor sanitation systems and poor education systems, you get a really bad stew.”
Currently, the two responses we see most often are “well done, keep up the good work, we need more awareness”. The other one is, ‘Oh, are you going to lower the heat? Good luck.
Bushila Afrin
Chief Thermal Officer, Dhaka North, Bangladesh
Afrin said that in addition to planting thousands of trees in informal settlements in northern Dhaka and reintroducing fountain culture in the city, her team will also launch a pilot project in an urban settlement to create green corners and corners to relieve stress.
Afrin says it’s important to consider the type of tree you’re planting, such as citrus or neem trees, to deter mosquitoes during a dengue fever outbreak. Adequate lighting, benches, CCTV cameras, fountains and signs urging women and children to be given priority are also necessary, she added.
On May 10, 2023, a rickshaw driver poured water on his face to relieve stress during the heat wave in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Noor Photos | Noor Photos | Getty Images
“Right now, the two most common responses we see are, ‘Well done, keep up the good work, we need more awareness,’” Aflin said.
“The other is, ‘Oh, are you going to lower the heat? Good luck.'”
Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne City Councilor Tiffany Crawford told CNBC that extreme heat kills more people in Australia than bushfires, floods and storms.
“There’s a reason for that, and that’s the data lag,” she said.
Crawford, who serves as Melbourne CHO alongside Krista Milne, said the true scale of heat-related deaths and illness would often not be known until health authorities took a closer look at hospital admissions and ambulance data. clear.
Melbourne, a city of about 5 million people in southeastern Australia, is known for its mild climate, but Crawford said it is prone to summer heatwaves that can last for days and are difficult to relieve at night.
On December 9, 2023, environmental activists gathered at the intersection of Flinders Street Station in Melbourne, Australia. Australia’s east coast is facing a severe heat wave, with temperatures expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius in many places. Hot weather could spark devastating bushfires.
Diego Federer | Getty Images News | Getty Images
“There was a very strong north wind. I liken it to being outside, like someone leaving the oven door or the heater open all night and forgetting to turn it off,” Crawford said.
Some of the short-term interventions already underway in Melbourne include extending the opening hours of public libraries and swimming pools, and rolling out so-called “cool packs” containing water bottles, neck scarves and vintage fans.
Going forward, Crawford said the city is in talks with Google to provide voters with so-called “cool routes” on online maps that help users navigate the city using existing shade or canopy cover.
“In places like Europe, the media conversation is a little different and the heat is alarming. In Australia, heat is something that people have been enduring and we will continue to live with it, but it’s these variables, like any climate response, that they change. It’s getting more and more obvious,” Crawford said.
“We need to plan around this.”
About The Author
