Cities designate “heat officers” in response to the threat of warming

Cities around the world are responding to the threat of rising temperatures by hiring “heat heads” to tackle a problem that will be exacerbated by climate change.

Miami-Dade County, Florida’s densely populated coastal region, at the forefront of climate change, will appoint Jane Gilbert as the world’s first director of heat on Friday. Athens, the Greek capital with the highest temperature ever in Europe, and Freetown in Sierra Leone are planning similar appointments. Other vulnerable cities will have to stay the same, but have been held back by the pandemic.

“We are known internationally for our risks arising from rising sea levels and floods. What we don’t know is this risk of heat, “Gilbert told the Financial Times.” I’ve been in Miami for 26 years. [and] I feel the change “in temperature,” he added. “How many more hot days we have.”

The event is part of an initiative organized by the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center, which supports communities dealing with climate issues through a network of experts in public health, finance and climate sciences.

Last year he tied with 2016 as warmest year on record, with temperatures inside the Arctic Circle rising to 38C. Cities such as Sydney, Australia and Los Angeles, on the west coast of the United States, were devastated by scorching temperatures in 2020, which fueled wildfires in surrounding areas.

Cities can become especially hot due to the density of people and buildings, the aggregation of materials that retain heat, such as concrete, air conditioning units that pump hot air, and the relative lack of green space. .

In the US, heat it kills more people on average each year than any other climate-related event, according to the National Weather Service.

He is often described as the “silent killer” because his effect is far less visual than those of other dramatic events such as typhoons and wildfires.

Between 1998 and 2017, more than 166,000 people died worldwide as a result of heat waves, according to the World Health Organization.

“Most heat-related deaths are not due to heat stroke or heat exhaustion,” but to cardiovascular or respiratory problems that occur when the body gets stressed, said Laurence Kalkstein, an American climate scientist .

One of the factors is people used to the heat, he explained. “It’s not the actual intensity of the heat that’s often most dangerous, it’s the variability of the summer weather.”

Miami-Dade is already at risk from several threats related to climate change, including hurricanes, floods and rising sea levels. Work is underway to make the region more resilient, inclusive raise roads and flood-proof buildings. Gilbert was also Miami’s first resilience officer in the city, a position created in 2016.

In his new role, he will work with local authorities, academics and community groups to identify the populations most vulnerable to extreme heat and develop responses.

Solutions could include creating “resilience centers” where people can cool off during heat waves, make sure bus stops are shaded, and talk to employers, especially those in the agricultural and construction sectors. , on their policies during especially hot days.

Extreme heat “affects our rich, minority and vulnerable poor. . . more communities, ”Gilbert said, noting that many cannot afford air conditioning or operate safety generators in power outages that can occur during hurricanes.

In Freetown, the climate had changed “drastically” over the past decade, said Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, the city’s mayor. Temperatures had risen and the rainy season had become shorter but more intense, causing more flooding.

The resulting fires in the summer are particularly dangerous for the thousands of people living in informal and densely populated settlements, he added.

The priorities of the Freetown heat director, who has not yet been appointed, will include data collection on the impact of the hot weather, interaction with the medical community and planting more trees.

Kostas Bakoyannis, mayor of Athens, said the extreme heat was one of the city’s “biggest threats to livability and economic prosperity”. Urban areas would look different as they adapted to climate change, with additions such as more refreshing tree cover and water features, he added.

Miami-Dade and others hope to pilot a new heat wave rating and naming system, similar to the one used for storms. This system would be important to warn and educate people, said Kathy Baughman McLeod, director of the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center.

“We have hurricane season, we need a hot season,” he said.

Climate capital

Where climate change meets business, markets and politics. Explore FT coverage here