Two of the cities around the world where people are most at risk from rising global temperatures are in Iraq, new research has shown.
Basra and Baghdad were once kept cool by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (which meet in Basra to form the Shatt Al Arab) and surrounding palm tree orchards. But now their residents face heatstroke, fires and droughts, among other dangers, during their hottest months.
Residents of the southern city of Basra are the people most at risk in the world from rising temperatures, according to a University of Oxford study that has ranked 205 cities with populations of more than a million.
This was due to the combined effects of high exposure to the hazards of extreme heat, a vulnerable population and limited infrastructure to cope with weather extremes. Baghdad was the sixth most at-risk city in the ranking.
Basra regularly records temperatures of more than 40°C in its summer months, and a record-breaking 51°C was recorded last year, when temperatures in Baghdad also reached 49°C.
The study, published in Sustainable Cities and Societies, shows that the risks posed by extreme heat are also relative to a population’s income and average age, as well as the city’s coping infrastructure, such as air conditioning and trees.
Cairo is one of the major tourist destinations to be ranked in the top 50, alongside Bangkok, Hanoi and Jaipur. “It isn’t just exposure to hot temperatures that matters for risk,” says lead author Nethmi Jayaratne Kariyawasam of the Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment.
“In many major cities, particularly across Asia and Africa, extreme heat coincides with high vulnerability and limited coping capacity. This combination can substantially increase heat risk and, in some cases, have life-threatening consequences.”
Cities must adapt to rising temperatures and extreme weather by supporting their populations and providing better coping infrastructure, said Radhika Khosla, an associate professor at the University of Oxford.
“Air conditioning demand is increasing worldwide, but many cannot afford it. And if we over-rely on this energy-intensive form of cooling, we risk further global warming in a vicious cycle,” she said.
“In order to scale adaptation and thermal comfort for all, we must consider a nuanced approach to keeping people safe, sequencing solutions with passive cooling and low-energy technologies such as fans and coolers being the first step.”
