Although Singapore has witnessed record-breaking heat this year – with temperatures not seen for 40 years – its residents have suffered little from it, since the southeast Asian city has adapted successfully to global warming. The city-state champions natural ventilation, tree-lined streets and more energy-efficient buildings. This policy is supported at the highest levels of government, making Singapore the greenest metropolis in the world and a laboratory for the city of the future. Our correspondent reports.
With an average temperature of 28°C (82.4°F), which feels like 32°C (89.6°F) with humidity, Singapore's six million inhabitants endure persistent heat all year round. Located close to the equator, the city-state has one key challenge: to remain liveable despite global warming. The situation is urgent: over the past 60 years, the city has warmed twice as fast as the rest of the world due to its unbridled economic development. As the leading financial centre in Southeast Asia, Singapore has become one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Concrete and tarmac trap the heat, while air conditioners, present in 80 percent of homes, blow hot air onto the streets.
Since 2006, the tropical metropolis has therefore been turning itself into a green city, with parks and gardens. Some 47 percent of the "garden city" of Singapore is now covered in vegetation. The seven million trees that have been planted help cool the air by several degrees, and the government plans to plant a further million by 2030. In addition, Singapore wants to focus on green town planning. Energy-neutral buildings have sprung up throughout the city. They are covered in greenery and sometimes open to the outside so that a natural breeze replaces the use of air conditioning.
But will all these choices be sufficient in the years to come? Our correspondent reports.
