'Thermal safety: Not just climate in action; it's biology & physiological capacity to cope & recover

Eve Irvine is pleased to welcome Ronita Bardhan, Professor of Sustainable Built Environment and Health at the University of Cambridge. Extreme heat is no longer simply a question of climate exposure. It is a question of thermal safety, public health, energy security, urban design and inequality, explains Professor Bardhan. Her starting point is that, in an emergency, protecting human life must come first: people need immediate access to cooling, through shade, hydration, cooling centres, passive design or, where necessary, air conditioning. The challenge, she says, is not to choose between adaptation and mitigation, but to pursue both simultaneously.