Bengaluru joins 33-city global initiative to combat extreme heat, reshape urban design

Launched at the C40 World Mayors Summit, the initiative focuses on protecting urban populations and infrastructure from rising temperatures by 2030.

As Indian cities face record-breaking temperatures, Bengaluru, along with Ahmedabad and Mumbai, has joined a global coalition of 33 cities committed to tackling one of the most dangerous impacts of climate change, extreme heat.

The initiative, called the Cool Cities Accelerator, was launched on the opening day of the C40 World Mayors Summit in Rio de Janeiro. (Unsplash )

The initiative, called the Cool Cities Accelerator, was launched on the opening day of the C40 World Mayors Summit in Rio de Janeiro, aiming to help urban leaders protect residents, strengthen local economies, and redesign cities for a rapidly warming planet, The Hindu reported.

The programme brings together 33 founding cities representing over 145 million people worldwide, including major global centres such as Austin, Boston, Buenos Aires, Freetown, London, Nairobi, Phoenix, Paris, and Singapore.

Each participating city has pledged to take decisive action by 2030 to protect its population and infrastructure from rising urban heat. The Accelerator has been established by C40 Cities, with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, and implementation assistance from the ClimateWorks Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Z Zurich Foundation, and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to the release, extreme heat is now the deadliest weather-related threat worldwide, causing nearly half a million deaths each year. Without urgent intervention, the number of people exposed to life-threatening urban heat could increase fivefold by 2050.

The statement emphasized that most heat-related deaths are preventable through better access to cooling, hydration, medical assistance, public health measures, and resilient infrastructure.

The Cool Cities Accelerator provides a science-based and practical framework to guide cities through both immediate and long-term measures. Under the initiative, participating cities will collaborate and share best practices to protect residents by establishing clear heat management leadership, strengthening early warning systems, and ensuring access to cooling during emergencies within two years.

Over the next five years, cities will work towards transforming their urban environments by improving building design and thermal efficiency, expanding tree cover and shaded areas, and reinforcing critical infrastructure to withstand future heat stress.

In support of this global effort, The Rockefeller Foundation has announced a grant of around $1 million to help develop adaptation targets and offer technical support to cities as they implement practical solutions to mitigate extreme heat.