Thermal Safety: Protecting Lives Through Biology, Physiology, and Urban Design

Eve Irvine welcomes Professor Ronita Bardhan, who holds the Chair in Sustainable Built Environment and Health at the University of Cambridge. She explains that extreme heat is not merely a matter of climate exposure; it concerns thermal safety, public health, energy security, urban design, and social equity. In emergencies, the priority must be safeguarding human life by ensuring rapid access to cooling mechanisms—such as shade, hydration, cooling centres, passive design, or, when needed, air conditioning. The key challenge, according to Bardhan, is to pursue both adaptation and mitigation strategies concurrently rather than choosing between them.

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