The region’s scientists, academics, and policymakers recently met in Singapore for the first-ever Global Heat Health Information Network – Southeast Asia (GHHIN), where the goal was to help policymakers craft regional, national, and local heat plans to build a more heat-resilient region.
Heat has become a significant concern, especially in tropical regions where people are chronically exposed to heat. “Heat and humidity are actually not new to us in this part of the world, and that is a key reason why, for the longest time, we haven’t take serious action to counter it,” said GHHIN Southeast Asia chair Jason Lee, who also serves as director of heat resilience and performance center at the National University of Singapore.
As climate risks become more complex, so does the need for proactive measures to mitigate heat and foster climate resilience.
Not all countries have heat action plans that are not integrated into their disaster management plans.
A good heat action plan should include early warning systems and coordination, public awareness campaigns, medical professional training, and heat exposure reduction/adaptive measures, said Abhiyant Tiwari, lead for India’s climate resilience and health program.
In Southeast Asia, Singapore’s heat action plans are based on epidemiological studies and climate change projections which they’ve used as a starting point to plan any impacts or adaptation strategies.
Many countries were only spurred into action after breaking heat records last year, when the world temporarily breached the warming threshold of 1.5C set under the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Heat is a bigger problem for cities, which are heating up faster than anywhere else. Rapid urbanization and population growth are creating urban heat islands in large part due to human activity, dense infrastructure, and heat absorbing materials like concrete and asphalt. In addition, many residents, including the elderly, children, and low income communities in those areas lack access to cooling technologies or green spaces, making them more susceptible to heat stress.
As the dry summer season approaches, Filipinos will once again be reminded of the need for a heat action plan, for it is almost certain that temperatures will rise further, continuing to threaten lifestyles and lives. Aside from predicting heat waves and informing vulnerable members of the population, our towns and cities will have to find ways to adapt by reducing the impact of heat, especially when it comes to the provision of green public spaces, which many of our towns and cities lack.*
