Urban heat in a very hot region: Exploring spatial inequality in exposure to extreme heat hazard in Tehran, Iran
Babak Badakhshan, Ayyoob Sharifi, Tajeddin Karami, Fatemeh Salehipour Bavarsad
Abstract
Cities are becoming hotter due to the synergistic effect of climate change and urban heat islands (UHI), posing serious health-related problems among vulnerable population groups. While urban heat vulnerability has gained significant scholarly attention worldwide, we still know little about which socio-demographic groups are disproportionately overexposed to extreme heat waves in hot and arid climatic areas– particularly in the Middle East. To address this research gap, we bring the case of Tehran, Iran, during the two days of nationwide extreme temperature shutdown to examine which population groups were more likely to be over/underexposed to extreme heat hazard. Our findings reveal a clear north-south gap in disproportionate exposure to extreme heat across the city sub-districts, highlighting the historical and intensifying income gap between poor and wealthier residents. In addition, we show that sub-districts with high elderly and female populations tend to have relatively low exposure to heat hazard and better access to both indoor and outdoor cooling infrastructure. On the other hand, our study indicates that children, immigrants, and illiterate residents are overexposed to extreme heat waves and have limited capacity to adapt due to inadequate cooling resources. To date, the nationwide shutdown is how the government tries to protect at-risk population groups from constantly rising temperatures–with obviously no proper strategic plan or heat action guidelines. With the ongoing dramatic vision of global warming, we urge the government to implement socio-technical adaptation policies by prioritizing socio-economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in the heat mitigation agenda.