Africa’s first heat officer is based in Freetown — 5 things that should be on her agenda
Significant proportion of urban dwellers who are poor and those whose living conditions do not provide adequate shelter from heat risks make Africa deserving special attention
Eugenia Kargbo has an unusual job: she is the city of Freetown’s chief heat officer. Her role in Sierra Leone’s capital is the first of its kind in Africa. She has been tasked with raising public awareness about extreme heat, improving responses to heat waves, and collecting, analysing and visualising heat impact data for the city, which is home to 1.2 million people.
[...]
The risks are concentrated in its capital and largest city, Freetown, where some 35% of the population live in 74 informal settlements like Kroo Bay, often in disaster-prone areas like the seafront or hillsides. Houses are densely built and typically temporary structures made of “heat traping” materials. Services that supports cooling, such as water and electricity, are usually inadequate.
[...]
1. Take a diverse approach to urban greening
Nature-based approaches are a great way to address increasing temperatures linked to climate change. Scholars have established positive links between green infrastructure, temperature moderation and even health outcomes in African cities as well as elsewhere in the world.
[...]
2. Strengthen the link between heat and health
Exposure to extreme heat usually comes with health problems – and can even kill people, as I and many other scholars have documented. It exacerbates underlying health conditions.
[...]