Key Points
- Researchers are studying the impact of extreme heat on the 1.3 million residents of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas.
- The study involves installing thermometers in homes and asking residents to keep “heat diaries.”
- Favelas, built without urban planning, often become “heat traps” in the summer.
- The data will inform public policy and address the uneven impacts of climate change.
For the 1.3 million people living in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, summer is becoming a season of misery. As temperatures soar above 100°F, the concrete and cement of these unplanned, working-class neighborhoods turn into a giant heat trap, making life unbearable for residents who can’t afford air conditioning.
“Sleeping is the worst part,” said one 39-year-old woman. “In the favela, we experience the heat in a very different way.”
Now, a team of researchers from Utrecht University in the Netherlands is working to document exactly how this extreme heat is affecting the lives of favela residents. They have installed thermometers in people’s homes to measure the indoor temperatures and have asked residents to keep “heat diaries.” In these diaries, people record how high temperatures affect their bodies, sleep, and daily routines.
The goal of the study is to show how climate change is not just an environmental issue, but a political one that is making the city’s already stark inequality even worse. The favelas, built out of necessity without any urban planning, are often much hotter than the wealthy neighborhoods that lie just below them on the hillsides.
The data from this study could be a powerful tool for change. The project’s coordinator hopes it will help inform new public policies that take into account conditions inside people’s homes, not just street temperatures.
By giving voice to those who are suffering the most, the researchers hope to spark a conversation about how to build a more just and resilient city in the face of a warming planet.
