A vehicle sprays water along a busy road to lower the temperature amidst a heat wave in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on April 27, 2024.
Photographer: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images
Chief Heat Officers Are Developing a Global Playbook for Deadly Temperatures
As urban centers deal with scorching weather, a network of officials is comparing notes on solutions to keep people cool. We talked to five of them.
Cities are on the frontlines of unrelenting high temperatures that are shattering records in 2024. In recent months, heat waves have forced school closures from Delhi to Manila. In Thailand, more people have already died from heat this year than in all of 2023.
The impacts will get worse as global temperatures continue to climb. Once-in-a-century rates of heat-related excess deaths are now forecast to occur as frequently as every 10 to 20 years.