Extreme heat waves are anything but normal, but they’re quickly becoming the new reality. The 10 hottest years on record have all happened in the last decade. And because temperatures in urban centres can be 10 to 15 degrees Celsius higher than surrounding areas, cities can be dangerous places to be when the mercury rises — particularly for the elderly, those with pre-exisiting health conditions as well as poorer populations who lack access to air conditioning. “Heat has a way of going through the city and finding those who are the weakest,” says Eleni Myrivili, the United Nations’ global heat officer. “It’s a very unfair climate condition.” In this episode, we explore the growing risk posed by heat and what could help us adapt to a hotter world. 

Eleni Myrivili is the United Nation’s first-ever global chief heat officer. An anthropologist by training, Myrivili understands how heat waves discriminate against older, less-wealthy and under-served demographics. Before being named to her UN post in 2022, Myrivili was Athens’ heat officer, where she coordinated the capital’s response to heat waves and helped renovate an ancient Roman aqueduct to bring water into the city.

Further reading: 

• What will it take to save our cities from a scorching future
• Earth’s 10 hottest years on record are the last 10
• Extreme heat is deadlier than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined
• Heat inequality ‘causing thousands of unreported deaths in poor countries’
• The heat crisis is a housing crisis
• Ancient civilizations countered extreme heat. Here’s what cities borrow from history
• Toronto's getting hotter. Experts say a chief heat officer could help the city adapt
• Architects turning to India’s lattice-building designs to keep buildings cool without air conditioning 
• How India’s lattice buildings cool without air conditioning
• Athen’s answer to a water supply crunch: an ancient aqueduct 

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