Record heat waves! Now we have to adapt to the climate crisis

Flooding and extremely high temperatures have caused many deaths in eastern China, where record temperatures of over 42 degrees Celsius were recorded. Firefighters across Portugal and western Spain are battling blazes amid a heatwave that has pushed temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius.

Earlier this spring, the effects of India’s heat wave, one of dozens this year alone, were sweeping. Temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius across the country put millions of people at risk of heat-related illnesses, destroyed wheat crops, intensified the electricity crisis and triggered school closures.

India is not alone. Neighboring Pakistan was also struggling with scorching temperatures before the start of summer. And earlier this year, central South America was the hottest place on the planet before Western Australia claimed the title.

As the climate crisis worsens heat waves around the world and temperatures rise further beyond forecasts, countries face the question of how to remain livable.

It all depends on wealth and readiness

Increasing electricity bills with air conditioning, cooling with fans, working indoors — these options are available only to a privileged few.

“The story of climate change is one of high inequality, and we’re seeing it play out already in the poorest and hottest regions of the world,” said Tamma Carleton, assistant professor of economics at Santa’s Bren School of Environmental Science and Management. Barbara.

Carleton co-authored a 2022 study that pegged a city’s ability to minimize deaths during extreme temperatures down to two main factors: wealth and the number of hot days it experiences.

Money decides what technologies a city can afford to protect its most vulnerable. And when those adaptation costs aren’t covered by the state, the burden falls on individuals to finance their own protection, Carleton says. A situation that leaves the poorest experiencing the worst of the situation.

But even rich cities can suffer if caught by surprise without a plan of action. It happened in the US Pacific Northwest, a wealthy region known for its mild climate, where more than 100 people died in last year’s heat wave.

“We tend to see in our projections of future climate change that poorer countries will face a really large increase in the risk of death and richer countries will see an increase in adaptation costs,” he said. Carleton.

The urge to act against the heat

How high this risk of death is in developing countries was made clear when Ahmedabad, a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat, lost more than 1,344 people as thermometers reached 47 Celsius in 2010.

The figure has spurred the city into action. In 2013, they rolled out a plan that has prevented about 1,100 heat-related deaths each year, according to a study.

The first heat action plan in South Asia includes an early warning system, community outreach to vulnerable populations and education for health staff about possible signs of heat exposure. It also organizes cooling centers in buildings such as temples and malls, as well as reduced or staggered working hours for those working outdoors, among others.

As India’s temperatures consistently exceed baseline in the spring and summer months, Ahmedabad’s heating plan has since served as a model for similar patterns in 23 of the country’s 28 states.

But as high temperatures continue, these models undergo regular updates, according to Polash Mukherjee, who directs the Natural Resources Defense Council of India’s Air Pollution and Climate Resilience program. The non-profit organization helped develop Ahmedabad’s heat action plan.

“The focus has shifted significantly in the last two years from simply protecting people’s health and mortality against extreme heat to more proactive measures,” Mukherjee said. “These include amending building bylaws so that new builds are better insulated as well as the rooftop cooling programme.”

A low-cost solution to reduce indoor temperatures is the cool roof program, which mainly targets poorly insulated houses in slums where informal workers and other vulnerable groups reside. When a roof is coated with materials such as lime-based whitewash or white fabric, it becomes more reflective and absorbs less heat.

Fresh sidewalks and green walkways

Such ideas are flourishing around the world. The Japanese capital Tokyo has introduced cool pavements that work with thermal barrier coatings, for example. Medellin in Colombia has planted “green corridors,” passages of vegetation that provide more shade in public spaces, while the city of Toronto, Canada, offers grants for people to install green or cool roofs.

Some cities have introduced heat officials whose job it is to coordinate the response to rising temperatures.

Eugenia Kargbo became Africa’s first warming officer when she took up the post in Freetown, Sierra Leone. One of her goals is to provide reflective market shade covers to protect women selling products outside. To make the capital more livable, it has also introduced a tree-planting program in which planters can collect micro-payments in an app.

“This is the future I envision for my children and all children in Freetown: A safe environment that is not limited by the risk of extreme heat,” she told DW’s EcoAfrica.

Focus on the climate crisis

Even as some regions find ways to mitigate some of the effects of scorching heat waves, many scientists stress that governments should not lose sight of the root cause of rising temperatures: the climate crisis.

Aditi Mukherji, who co-authored the water chapter in the IPCC’s assessment of Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, says the onus to find solutions should not be on those most affected, who historically have emitted the most small amount of CO2.

“I think when it comes to these kinds of hot weather extremes, the only solution is for high-emitting countries to immediately stop emissions and stop burning fossil fuels,” he said./DW

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