Heat is a story about the toll of climate change on human lives. Research suggests that there are more than half a million heat-related deaths around the world each year. And the exact number is likely far higher, given that heat as a cause of death is often invisible.
Heat is also a story about injustice. Poor and marginalized communities suffer the most from extreme heat, whether it is because they lack access to cooling, are more likely to work in manual labor, or live in the densest, hottest parts of the world’s cities. Poor countries also have the fewest resources to adapt their cities, infrastructure and food systems to be more resilient to extreme heat.
After witnessing the impacts of the world’s hottest year yet, addressing extreme heat and its impacts needs to be top of mind in 2024. And cities should be at the vanguard. Whether by planting thousands of trees like in Medellin, Colombia, painting roofs white like in Ahmedabad, India or reimagining urban planning like in Singapore, local governments are positioned to design pragmatic solutions that can cool cities and protect lives for over half the world’s population.
There is also important work to be done at the national level through policies and regulations that encourage energy efficiency, nature-based solutions and more. Richer countries that have benefited from centuries of fossil fuel use and caused much of this heat, must step up later this year to support vulnerable countries at COP29 in Baku. Much progress is needed on the Global Goal on Adaptationand new financial commitments for locally led adaptation.
#globalwarming #climateaction #climatechange #climateimpact #climatejustice
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