Imagine Maria, a single mother living in a densely populated neighborhood in São Paulo. It's the middle of summer, and the city is being gripped by an unprecedented heatwave.
The temperature has soared to 41°C (106°F), and the relentless heat is unbearable. Maria's small apartment, with its tin roof and lack of insulation, feels like an oven.
Her children are restless and unable to sleep, and fans do little to provide relief. The local park, once a refuge, is now a sweltering expanse of dry grass and wilting trees. Maria worries about her elderly neighbors and the rising number of heat-related illnesses reported in the news.
This scenario is becoming increasingly common in cities worldwide, highlighting the urgent need to more effectively mitigate extreme urban heat.
That’s why the World Bank partnered with the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS) to produce the new Combating Heat in Cities report, studying how cities globally are addressing urban heat, the World Bank’s existing initiatives, and opportunities to further operationalize the urban heat agenda at the World Bank.