ANALYS I S
What the world is doing
Indonesia – Cool roofs A special coating applied to roofs reflects sunlight and reduces the amount of heat a building absorbs, thereby lowering indoor temperatures. The city of Tangerang, an industrial hub near Jakarta, piloted the program on 40 public and community buildings. According to reports, one industrial building saw a drop in indoor air temperature of more than 10°C after the adoption of a cool roof.
Mexico – Green Challenge Mexico City’s Green Challenge ended up increasing urban green space from 14.5 square meters per person in 2017 to 19.4 square meters per person in 2020. This was achieved by planting nearly 50 million trees and other plants, which increased biodiversity in public spaces, prevented soil erosion and improved air and water quality across the city. China – Regional centralized cooling The municipal government of Guangzhou adopted a regional centralized cooling system as part of the Pearl River New City development.
What Thailand is doing
Heat action plans The Ministry of Education introduced nationwide school schedules adjusted for extreme heat, following a successful pilot program in Kamphaeng Phet Province. Public health interventions were also rolled out, including heat health advisories, mobile health units and preventative guidelines for local authorities. Finally, a prototype digital surveillance program will collect hospital data, heat illnesses, climate indicators and absentee trends as a kind of early-warning system. The program is similar to a dengue fever surveillance program in Singapore – but for heat. Greening the city To counter the heat island effect, the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority has a plan to plant one million trees in four years. The Green Bangkok 2030 program aims to increase green space, tree coverage and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure including new park developments. Agricultural resilience The UN’s Scaling Up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture (SCALA) program emphasizes climate-resilient agriculture practices. In Thailand, SCALA comes in the form of mapping the maize and livestock value chains, supporting private investment in climate-smart agriculture and holding workshops with stakeholders in the private sector, government and academia to explore de-risking solutions.
The central business district of Zhujiang New Town reported a local temperature of 2–3°C lower than with distributed cooling systems.
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