Silent Killer- How Cities Are Bracing For More Heat. Earth.Org Martina IginiGlobal CommonsAug 28th 2024 Extreme heat, a direct cause of climate change, is spreading rapidly across the world, affecting billions of people. With the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warning that further warming will increase the intensity, frequency and duration of heatwaves, cities have begun testing warning systems and other adaptive measures to keep individuals safe, with mixed results.Climate change is escalating extreme heat everywhere in the world. According to a recent analysis by non-profit Climate Central, between May 2023 and May 2024, an estimated 6.3 billion people – roughly 4 out of 5 people in the world – lived through at least a month of what in their areas were considered abnormally high temperatures. Human-made anthropogenic climate change made this extreme heat at least two times more likely to occur, the non-profit found. Heat affects everyone and is becoming harder to ignore, particularly for those living in urban areas. A 2021 study concluded that by the end of the century, cities could be up to 4.4C warmer depending on the emissions scenario. Fortunately, many cities are taking the matter at hand, implementing strategies to alert their residents about the risks posed by extreme heat, mitigate the potential of further warming, and adapt to the heat that can no longer be prevented. From early warning system, emergency and heat-health action plans to architectural interventions, Earth.Org looks at how cities are keeping safe from this silent and deadly threat.
Warning: Excessive Heat! This summer of record-breaking temperatures has seen headlines dominated by reports of millions of people under heat warnings. Heat warning systems are essential tools designed to alert communities about impending heatwaves and extreme heat events. They are used in hundreds of cities around the world, from Las Vegas to Hong Kong, to alert and provide guidance to residents and local authorities when temperatures rise to dangerous levels. Citizens are often advised on staying cool and hydrated, seeking shelter in air-conditioned spaces, and avoid strenuous outdoor activities. Meanwhile, relevant local departments are alerted about the need to take preventive measures such as opening temporary shelters and cooling centers. In a warming world, these warning systems are essential. But can they save lives? While there is no straightforward answer, past events showed us that warnings alone do not compensate for the unpreparedness of societies to heat events.
In 2021, warnings were not enough to prevent hundreds of fatalities in the Pacific Northwest. 441 people died to extreme heat between June 27 and July 3. More recognized for its overcast skies and light rain, the Northwest is relatively unaccustomed to extreme heat. This translates into inadequate infrastructure and poor understanding of the risks, the combination of which can be fatal. Similarly, the UK, a nation not traditionally associated with favorable weather, is only now beginning to experience the realities of global warming. Its national weather agency, the Met Office, issued the country’s first ever red “extreme heat” warning in July 2022, when the mercury hit 40C for the first time in recorded history. The government declared a national emergency; however, the reality is that no one was prepared. “It was a real challenge,” said Renee Salas, an emergency medicine physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, recalling the heatwave. “We’re used […] to gray, overcast weather, generally the average July temperature is 20C. And so there was a real difficulty in communicating to people ‘this isn’t beach weather or park weather or going-on-an-ice-cream weather’.
If you’re in a group that might be vulnerable, if you’re older, if you have certain pre-existing health conditions, this is genuinely very dangerous.” Official estimates put the number of heat-related fatalities that summer at 2,985, but there is little doubt that the death toll was much higher. “When you go to hospital with a heat-related condition, it doesn’t go on your death certificate that you died because of a heatwave. It’s something else… a cardio-vascular event or something like that,” Salas explained. Communication barriers and limited access to technology, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly, low-income households, and the homeless are some of the most apparent challenges authorities face with regards to heat warning systems. The issue is particularly pronounces in low-income countries, which lag behind in terms of connectivity. With more than 2.6 billion people – nearly 32% of the world population – still offline, such channels can only go so far.
Should We Name Heatwaves? Aside from connectivity, another issue in effectively communicating heat risks is that people still underplay or do not fully understand them.read on https://earth.org/silent-killer-how-cities-are-bracing-for-more-heatwaves/