Dhaka gets its first heat officer. What's her task ahead?

Bushra Afreen says she will start by raising public awareness to combat the problems stemming from severe heatwaves

Bushra Afreen has been appointed the first chief heat officer of the Dhaka North City Corporation.

Bushra Afreen, the daughter of Mayor Atiqul Islam, has been appointed as Dhaka North City Corporation’s first chief heat officer at a time when life in the capital is seeking some respite from record-breaking scorching temperatures.

But the question is how she can protect people from the searing heat in Dhaka, a city of concrete brought to its knees by the adverse effects of climate change.

As the first step, Bushra will start by working to raise awareness among people.

“We will begin a heat messaging programme to create awareness among citizens as it is the first step of prevention. We will prioritise the safety of elders, children, pregnant women and people who are ill. Our people don’t really know about the effects of extreme heat,” she said.

Bushra graduated in global development studies from Canada. She previously worked as an executive officer at Shakti Foundation, a nongovernmental development organisation in Bangladesh.

CHIEF HEAT OFFICER: WHAT KIND OF POSITION IS IT?

The DNCC signed a memorandum of understanding with the US-based Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center on Wednesday in a bid to cool off the weather in Dhaka. Mayor Atiqul Islam has already declared that the DNCC will plant 200,000 trees in two years under the agreement.

The deal was signed at an event at Dhaka University’s Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban, where Bushra was introduced as the Dhaka North City’s first heat officer to run the programme.

Arsht-Rock appoints chief heat officers in cities across the world in its mission to cut risks associated with climate change. The first chief heat officer was appointed in 2021. It was Miami’s Jane Gilbert in the United States.

Bushra is the latest heat officer to join the all-female squad in Miami, Los Angeles, Santiago, Athens and Melbourne. Dhaka is also the first Asian city under the initiative.

The chief heat officers initiate different programmes and implement them to face crises stemming from severe heatwaves and work to reduce the adverse effects of a heat island, which is an urban area that is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas due to human activities.

Their responsibilities include involving and coordinating various government and non-governmental organisations, individuals, civil society members and donor organisations in the implementation of the programmes, supported by Arsht-Rock, which also covers the salary and other expenses of a heat officer.

WHAT WILL BUSHRA DO?

Heatwaves dominated 26 days of April in Bangladesh. The Met Office said the rainfall in April was 66 percent lower than usual.

The mercury climbed to 40.6 degrees Celsius in Dhaka on Apr 16, which is the highest in the region in the past five decades. Pabna’s Ishwardi recorded a nationwide high of 43 degrees Celsius on Apr 17, the second-highest temperature recorded in the country’s history.

Bushra said she was delighted to work with Arsht-Rock as the organisation has been working to build human capacity for resilience in the face of climate impacts in urban areas for a long time. They conduct research on scientific and technical solutions to issues created by humans and focus on their implementations.

“Severe heatwaves are an invisible risk that people should know about. Many countries around the world warn people about it beforehand. People are advised on what to do when going outside during the heatwaves. But that doesn’t happen in Bangladesh,” she said.

Bushra spoke about involving the public in policymaking as they struggle the most from the harmful effects of severe heatwaves.

“The women in particular suffer heavily and we have to make sure we hear what they have to say -- what problems they are facing and what the citizens want.”

Heat officers in Santiago initiated programmes on cooling pavements and roofs and took special measures to keep the temperature under control in Freetown. They initiated tree planting in many cities, she added.

Bushra said she would figure out and implement measures that would fit Bangladesh.

“We don’t have much space here, but we need to think about developing miniature forests to keep the temperatures in check. There are many solutions to the effects of severe heatwaves. We have to identify them and implement measures with realities in sight. A task force will be formed to finalise and implement the activities.”

Bushra went to Canada for higher studies after completing her secondary school in Dhaka. Later, she graduated in global development studies from Queen's University in Canada. She also studied at the Institute of Local Government Studies in Ghana.

Along with awareness campaigns, Bushra is also looking forward to focusing on environment-friendly solutions to reduce the temperature in Dhaka.

“The DNCC has already been working on nature-based solutions, which are good in many ways. But we will decide on whether we want to focus on nature-based or technique-based solutions,” she said.

“Arsht-Rock will provide the finances to implement the programmes in the fight against the crises stemming from heatwaves in the city. The DNCC will also contribute to it.”