I’m sending this note from an unseasonably sweltering London. And I’m not alone – punishingly high temperatures from the Indian subcontinent to the American MidWest have seen global heat records broken. And then broken again. Heat stress is the silent pandemic – causing hundreds of thousands of excess deaths in recent years.
On top of that, the second order effects of extreme heat get very scary, very fast. Wildfires. Hurricanes. Crop Failures. Algae blooms. Water shortages. Power outages. Air pollution. Health complications. Exacerbated inequalities. Constrained economies.
As a result, enterprising innovators are rolling out solutions that make living in an ever-hotter world bearable. Buildings and cities are the obvious targets, but extreme heat is also reshaping industries such as food, apparel, and finance too.
None of these initiatives remove the need to urgently reduce our emissions and slow global heating. But as always, these innovations should inspire you to ask, ‘What if this heat is now the (near) future normal? How will this impact our industry?’ And, most crucially, ‘what can we do right now?’
🏠 Real Estate
Modu x Transsolar’s self-cooling concrete walls have a scalloped texture that enables them to cool faster.
Cartuja Qanat. Seville’s architectural project uses ancient underground Iranian techniques to reduce the building’s temperature.
GAF StreetBond Reflective Pavement Coating can reduce surface temperatures by 10-12F, and was featured in TIME’s 200 Best Inventions of 2022.
Biosolar Roofs. The cooling effect of green roofs helps reduce the negative impact of extreme heat on solar panels, plus they offer insulation, water runoff, and biodiversity booster effects too.
🌇 Cities
The SUGi Project has planted 160 urban ‘Pocket Forests’ globally since 2019. We dedicate a chapter of The Future Normal to the need and opportunity for Urban Forests.
Depave is a Portland based nonprofit dedicated to urban re-greening with the slogan, “From Parking Lots to Paradise”.
Pool+. This initiative plans to install an Olympic-sized floating swimming pool in New York’s East River, with the porous walls filtering the river water to make it safe to swim in.
Gensler’s sail shades offer a simple and affordable solution for residents of the Costa Rican city of Curridabat.
Job of the future: chief heat officers. Currently these are public positions, but don’t be surprised to see corporate roles dedicated to heat mitigation emerge soon.
💻 Tech & Data
Japanese startup Biodata Bank has released CNRIA, a heat alert watch that can run for over 3 months between charges.
Siradel digital twins. Ultra-detailed AI-powered models of cities simulate outcomes of various heat mitigation strategies, such as planting trees, installing green roofs, or changing building materials.
Google. Users making heat-related searches will now see details on when a heat wave is predicted to start and end, tips on staying cool, and health information.
🦺 Apparel
Techniche’s StayQool suits keep construction workers cool. After soaking them in water, an outer layer of specially designed mesh removes heat via evaporation, while a waterproof inside layer keeps wearers comfortable.
Nike’s Aerogami running jacket has vents which open automatically to keep runners cool.
🚙 Automotive
Shenzhen University researchers used nanotechnology to mimic the reflective blue colour of morpho butterfly wings. The coating reduced the temperature of a car’s surface by 60F.
🏦 Financial Services
The Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) offers street vendors in the Indian city of Ahmedabad insurance that pays out if temperatures reach certain thresholds.
Sensible Weather is developing a travel insurance policy against extreme heat.
🌾 Food & Agriculture
Budweiser’s 'Ground Cooler' is an underground system which needs no electricity, yet can cool 300 beers to 8C using 40,000-year-old Egyptian evaporative cooling techniques.
Farmers are breeding heat-resistant cows. Some Puerto Rican cows developed shorter hair and more active sweat glands helping them stay productive, even as the temperature rises.
Where next?
Every organization and industry will be different, but the responses above can be largely grouped into four categories:
Alerting those at risk. Whether its via a wearable or a Google search, can you help people prepare for extreme heat?
Offer an escape route. The Pool+ project is an eye-catching escape, but even simple cooling centres will become a part of the future normal urban landscape.
Adapting to extreme heat. It’s not just farmers breeding heat-resistant cows – no matter which industry you’re in, every business should be actively managing its heat risk.
Cooler by design. Whether it’s creating urban forests or new reflective paints – we need both high and low tech design solutions to actively reduce temperatures. Fast.
Whichever approach you choose, let’s make the future cool again. 😎
What Is The Future Normal For Your Business?
The Future Normal: How We Will Live, Work & Thrive In The Next Decade, explores 30 trends, from continuous glucose monitoring to job sharing.
I also give inspiring, actionable presentations that help your team spot and seize emerging opportunities.
Get in touch if you'd like to discuss an upcoming event or project.
Or, sit back and enjoy the keynote that myself & Rohit Bhargava gave at SXSW to launch the book:
Thanks for reading,