The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAid) are hosting a global summit on extreme heat, warning that the climate crisis is dramatically increasing the probability of a mass-fatality heat disaster. The conference will highlight pioneering work being done, from tree-planting projects to reflective roof coverings that reduce indoor temperatures. After last year’s record-breaking temperatures, when 3.8 billion people, half the world’s population, sweltered in extreme heat for at least one day, the organizers hope the event will prompt governments to prepare for a “silent killer” that rarely gets the attention it deserves.
Jagan Chapagain, the IFRC secretary general, drew comparisons to Kim Stanley Robinson’s apocalyptic novel Ministry for the Future, which opens with a deadly heatwave in India that kills millions of people. “It is, for now, science fiction,” he said. “We’re not there, yet. But extreme heat, far less visually dramatic than hurricanes or floods, is claiming lives and livelihoods with a stealth which belies its impact.” Chapagain said heat was already a major cause of suffering in many parts of the world, accounting for more deaths in the US than all other climate impacts combined, but this often goes unreported because it is usually less sudden, less visual, and the scale of fatalities can take months or years to calculate.
The summit aims to improve data collection, which is currently done on a piecemeal basis, often using different standards from country to country. France estimated it had 5,000 heat-related deaths last year, Germany 3,000, and the UK 2,295. Yet, far more populous countries in Asia reported much lower tolls, with India registering 179 heat-related deaths, Pakistan 22, and Malaysia and Thailand two each. The organization’s 40-year-old Disaster Response Emergency Fund received its first appeal for a heatwave in 2018, from North Korea, and the next came in 2021 from Vietnam, followed by two the following year and three last year.
Global Summit on Extreme HeatThe goal is to draw more attention to the plight of vulnerable people, particularly the elderly, sick, and those who work outside or live in poorly-ventilated homes without air conditioning. Cities are leading the way, with pioneers like Freetown in Sierra Leone, which has appointed a heat officer to develop and administer an action plan. This includes heat-mapping the city, sending out temperature forecasts by WhatsApp groups, installing shades over outdoor markets, and creating 24 “cool corridors” by 2030 through a tree-planting campaign.
Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in other countries are also putting more effort into heatwave preparedness. Before a recent heatwave in Hanoi, volunteers parked mobile “cooling buses” in areas frequented by street vendors and outdoor workers. In Nepal, volunteers are encouraging meteorologists to improve early warning systems, municipalities to create “cool shelters” in hot areas, and hospitals to prepare for health impacts. Educational establishments are a particular focus, with authorities in the Terai region closing schools for several days during a heatwave to spare children from walking outside.
The meeting will launch an online “extreme heat global action centre” where local leaders and governments can share tips on how to improve the resilience of cities, companies, and communities. It will also kick off a two-month global campaign to raise awareness, culminating in a Heat Action Day on June 2. The IFRC aims to put in place heatwave disaster kits, prevention plans, and rapid response guidelines in the future, recognizing that preparedness will improve, but expressing confidence that the very worst scenarios can remain in imagination.