A University of Oxford study found hundreds of cities were at risk from rising temperatures and its cities facing increased vulnerability due to the impact of El Nino
Tourists visiting their favourite spots around the world could be in for a killer heat shock as El Nino threatens to roast visitors sightseeing in cities.
A shocking new study revealed hundreds of cities are at risk from the global temperature shock as El Nino arrives, with many being in the top 50 tourist destinations, such as Bangkok. University of Oxford scientists analysed the vulnerability and coping capacity of 220 major cities around the world.
The result show some 95 per cent of the most at-risk cities are in South and Southeast Asia, as well as Sub-Saharan Africa. Lead author Nethmi Jayaratne Kariyawasam said it was not just exposure to hot temperatures that was a risk factor.
“Our study highlights the importance of multi–faceted global heat risk assessments, which reveal the diverse pathways through which urban heat risk emerges,” the expert added. “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.” El Nino is expected to bring extreme heat and risks being one of the most dangerous threats to people around the globe.
The study, published in Sustainable Cities and Societies, the team added: “Heatwaves are increasing in frequency, duration, and intensity, driving excess mortality, infrastructure failures, and economic losses in cities worldwide.
“With over half of the global population currently residing in cities and projections indicating that two–thirds will do so by 2050, cities are becoming critical hotspots of climate impact.” The authors went on to rank 220 cities that had a population of more than 1 million and set out a core number of risk factors.
Factors included demographic and socioeconomic conditions, such as age and peoples’ finances. Results revealed nearly all the top at risk cities were in South and Southeast Asia as well as sub-Saharan Africa.
Cities most at risk from extreme heat
- 1. Al Basrah, Iraq
- Ahmadabad, India
- Bamako, Mali
- Nagpur, India
- Quezon City, Philippines
- Baghdad, Iraq
- Madurai, India
- Faisalabad, Pakistan
- Lagos, Nigeria
- Hyderabad, Pakistan
- Barranquilla, Colombia
- Ibadan, Nigeria
- Port Harcourt, Nigeria
- Conakry, Guinea
- Bhopal, India
- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Kaduna, Nigeria
- Bandung, Indonesia
- Port-au-Prince, Haiti
- Kanpur, India
How does UK fare?
Fortunately for Brits, UK cities found themselves at the lower end of the scale of places most at risk. London was the least vulnerable city of those analysed.
Meanwhile, Glasgow ranked at 215th and Birmingham was 213th. Jesus Lizana, who co-authored the study, added: “This study provides the first globally harmonised and directly comparable assessment of urban heat risk across cities worldwide.
“This provides a powerful tool for identifying where adaptation efforts are most urgently needed and, in the future, as datasets continue to improve, future iterations of this framework could support the monitoring of climate adaptation progress and urban heat resilience at the global scale.”
