Empowering Bangkok communities to address extreme heat through risk mapping
Bangkok, Thailand, 7 October 2026 - On the second day of the Global Heat Forum, heat and health researchers, city practitioners and development partners visited the Mahanak Mosque community in Bangkok’s Pom Prap Sattru Phai district to explore how scientific data can inform locally led action against extreme heat. The field visit demonstrated how community-level risk mapping, capacity building and emergency preparedness can help residents better understand their exposure to heat and protect those most at risk.
Convened by the Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN), Wellcome, the Rockefeller Foundation and ClimateWorks Foundation, the Global Heat Forum 2026 held from 6-9 October, brought together partners from around the world under the theme “Unlocking Solutions to Scale Heat Resilience”. The second day focused on practical solutions and field visits, providing delegates with an opportunity to learn from initiatives translating heat-risk knowledge into action on the ground.
Mahanak Mosque Community was identified as a heat hotspot through satellite mapping and health risk impact assessments conducted under ADPC’s Rockefeller Foundation-supported project, “Enhancing Health Resilience of At-Risk Communities against Climate Vulnerabilities in Critical Urban Centers of Thailand.” Implemented in partnership with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), TNDR, the Faculty of Nursing and the Sustainable Environment Research Institute (SERI) at Chulalongkorn University, and other academic partners, the project aims to strengthen the capacity of at-risk urban communities to anticipate and respond to climate-related health risks.
The project’s Composite Risk Index combines information on heat hazards, exposure, vulnerability and heat-related health impacts across Bangkok’s 50 districts and 180 sub-districts. The assessment provides an evidence base for prioritizing interventions and informing urban planning and public health decision-making by identifying areas facing greater risks and communities with heightened vulnerabilities.
To make this information more accessible and actionable, ADPC developed the Bangkok Heat Risk Explorer, an interactive geospatial tool that maps heat risk across the city’s districts and sub-districts. At the community level, the project has complemented this citywide analysis with practical training, health kits and first aid instruction to help residents apply risk information to their everyday preparedness and response efforts.
During the field visit participants had technical briefings and an opportunity for the direct engagement with community members and project partners. Delegates learned how heat risk maps were developed and how residents are using local knowledge and data to identify vulnerable households, understand neighborhood-level risks and plan protective measures. Community-based disaster risk management activities in Mahanak Mosque Community have also included data collection, capacity-building workshops and emergency drills, helping translate risk awareness into practical skills and coordinated action.
“Satellites and climate models can tell us where the heat is, but they cannot tell us where the ambulance can park. The community can,” said Mr. Aekkapol Aekakkararungroj, ADPC Program Manager, Air Quality and Health. “In Mahanak Mosque Community, this is community-based planning in practice. Residents drew their own maps and developed their own plans, including where to take a heatstroke patient and where an ambulance can stop to reach them as quickly as possible when an alley is narrow. They practice these plans through drills, so families know the routes, and community members, including young volunteer paramedics, can assess a patient and perform CPR on the spot. Sophisticated science, simple practical action - science helps us understand the hazard, but the plan, the drill and the response belong to the community because residents are the owners.”
Mr. Saman Mekloai, Mahanak Mosque Community Leader, highlighted how the project has equipped residents with the knowledge and tools to monitor heat risks and respond to emergencies. He underlined that “Through the project, we learned to measure the temperature inside our homes and in our surroundings, and we now have sensors that we can use to continue monitoring conditions ourselves. We used this information to develop a temperature map at the household level, alongside a map identifying vulnerable residents, including older people, persons with disabilities, bedridden residents and people with underlying health conditions. We also created a zoning map showing how to transport a patient as quickly as possible to a designated ambulance parking point. The heat-health kits provided through the project are very useful when assisting someone experiencing heatstroke, while CPR training has been especially valuable for younger community members who care for older people. These are skills and tools we can continue using ourselves.”
The visit brought together representatives from universities, research institutes, public health agencies, city networks and civil society organizations, including Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Imperial College London, Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Thammasat University, the National Institute of Environmental Health at China CDC, Thailand’s Department of Disease Control, UNICEF Thailand, World Resources Institute, the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, C40 Cities, CEEW, TU Delft and the GHHIN Southeast Asia Hub at NUS Medicine, among others.
Mahanak Mosque Community in Bangkok illustrated the challenges faced by densely populated urban neighborhoods with limited green space, where high heat exposure can compound existing vulnerabilities and limited access to resources. The experience also demonstrates why citywide risk assessments need to be complemented by local knowledge and community participation. While scientific tools help identify where risks are concentrated, residents are best placed to explain how those risks affect daily life and what responses are feasible within their neighborhoods.
The field visit offered a valuable opportunity to Global Heat Forum participants to directly engage with the community and learn from an approach that connects scientific evidence with residents’ lived experiences and practical preparedness. Mahanak Mosque Community’s experience shows how locally accessible risk information, community-led mapping, targeted training and regular drills can help turn heat-risk assessments into tangible protective action.
Sharing these lessons can support other high-risk neighborhoods in Bangkok and beyond in adapting the approach to their own conditions and strengthening links between community initiatives, city planning and public health systems. In this way, scaling heat resilience means empowering communities to interpret the risk data, develop solutions and sustain preparedness over time.
ADPC extends its appreciation to its co-hosts, the Mahanak Mosque community and TNDR, for their partnership, as well as to BMA, the Faculty of Nursing and SERI at Chulalongkorn University, the Global Heat Forum organizers and project partners for their continued collaboration in advancing urban heat resilience.