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Extreme heat case studies

This page presents case studies of extreme heat events and responses from different regions and contexts.

The examples illustrate how heat risks have been experienced, managed, and addressed around the world. They highlight impacts and showcase valuable lessons learned. Together, they provide practical insights to inform preparedness, planning, and risk reduction efforts for future heat events.

In 2022 alone, Portugal lost over 2,000 lives to extreme heat. In response, Amadora, a UNDRR Making Cities Resilient Resilience Hub, has taken bold steps to protect its people.
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Case study
Key policy recommendations for effective Heat Early Warning Systems
Several heat experts from across the Risk-informed Early Action Partnership collaborated to co-author a HEWS Policy Brief to clarify roles, improve coordination and enhance resilience as extreme heat becomes an increasingly critical risk.
  • Risk-informed Early Action Partnership (REAP)
Case study
Algeria Burkina Faso Cabo Verde Ethiopia Brazil Sri Lanka Iceland
Detection and warning for under-monitored hazards
Extreme heat, wildfires, volcanic eruptions and solar storms have been highlighted as hazards requiring greater investment. Some of these may sit outside the scope of national hydrometeorological networks, yet need to be monitored.
  • United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
Case study
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Gender-responsive and inclusive responses to climate migration in Freetown
In Freetown, over 90 per cent of working hours happen outside climate-controlled conditions and most market traders are migrant women. This case study shows how the city plans around migration and informal settlement growth rather than against them.
  • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
Case study
Uganda
Integration of city-centric approaches into national policy processes: Kampala’s case
This case study examines how Kampala, Uganda's capital, is integrating city-centric approaches into national policy to manage climate-related human mobility
  • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
Case study
India
Risk governance or risky governance? Delhi’s urban utility governance landscape and heatwaves
This report examines how routine utility governance produces differentiated heat risk in Delhi, focusing on the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and its interfaces with municipal bodies, revenue administration, and other corridor-owning agencies.
  • Global Disaster Preparedness Center (GDPC)
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