From Athens to Delhi, soaring global temperatures are turning cities into infernos with deadly heatwaves putting lives and livelihoods at risk.
Cities can be 5-10 degrees Celsius hotter than surrounding areas due to the urban heat island effect.
By 2050, more than 1.6 billion people living in some 1,000 cities could face intense heatwaves, climate experts say.
To help cities adapt, a major drive called Beat the Heat was launched at the United Nations COP30 climate summit in Brazil on 11 November, bringing together governments, city mayors, urban planners, big tech and other key partners.
The UN’s chief heat officer, Eleni Myrivili, spoke to Context about how we can cool our cities.
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Cities are heating up twice as fast as the global average because they’re made from materials like concrete and asphalt that absorb heat.
Eleni Myrivili, chief heat officer, United Nations
How has climate change affected your home city Athens?
The summer has radically changed this decade. We’re now getting at least one long, intense heatwave every year, with days often above 40 degrees.
Above 35 degrees, it’s very hard to function, work, move around or even sleep because the city doesn’t cool down at night.
It can be deadly. In Athens, 20 per cent of our population are over 60. A lot of people die during extremely hot nights, especially pensioners who can’t afford air conditioning.
Heat also causes droughts, flash floods and wildfires.
In 2021, the sky turned brown because of the smoke from wildfires right outside Athens. You couldn’t breathe – it was post-apocalyptic.
