Disaster Risk Reducation Education

Based on feedback from this year's third issue, the fourth issue of the Disaster Risk Reduction Education Newsletter Follow Me will maintain its focus on integrating disaster awareness into everyday life by exploring a topic that has increasingly affected people in recent years: heatwaves.

A "heatwave" refers to a prolonged period of unusually high temperatures lasting several days or even weeks. The main causes include atmospheric pressure systems, the greenhouse effect, and urbanization. Heatwaves can lead to health issues such as heatstroke and heat exhaustion, and place immense pressure on agriculture, water supplies, and energy systems. Fatalities due to heatwaves are not uncommon worldwide; for example, the 2003 European heatwave resulted in approximately 70,000 deaths, and the 2010 Russian heatwave caused 56,000 deaths. These tragic figures underscore the deadly impact of heatwaves.

As Taiwan spans both tropical and subtropical regions, high summer temperatures are a naturally occurring phenomenon. However, recent years have seen rising temperatures, worsened by Taiwan's unique urban heat island effect, which has led to frequent new temperature records. Some scholars suggest that each successive summer will be hotter than the previous, one making every summer cooler than the one following it, but hotter than the last. Is it possible to reverse this trend? This issue of the newsletter will briefly cover the causes, impacts, and potential disasters related to heatwaves, as well as the fatalities heatwaves have caused globally. Guiding readers to understand heatwaves, this issue will also discuss Taiwan's urban heat island effect, explaining how human activities, building density, and traffic flow contribute to higher temperatures in urban areas compared to surrounding suburbs. Additionally, it will examine whether green solutions, such as tree planting, can effectively reduce temperatures through photosynthesis and achieve carbon reduction results. Furthermore, in an era focused on carbon reduction, the integration of green building design principles with traditional feng shui will be explored. This includes creating green feng shui buildings using design concepts based on harmony with nature, such as green roofs, vertical greening, and natural ventilation systems to promote cooler and more sustainable living environments.