Health effects of heat in Southeast Asia: Behavioural and structural climate change adaptation interventions in semi-rural Malaysia

Increasing heat exposure will profoundly influence human health in the following decades, particularly in climate-vulnerable countries in Southeast Asia. In Malaysia, heat-related mortality is projected to increase by 295 percent by 2030. More heatwaves will increase, as will severe rainstorms and tropical cyclones. To strengthen heat adaptation in Southeast Asia, we will evaluate simple behavioral and structural interventions that have the potential to protect vulnerable communities from the health effects of extreme heat. Addressing climate change and health requires fundamental behavioral changes in individuals and communities to prevent them from the adverse health effects of heat. We will introduce interventions that will strengthen heat health literacy and fluency for individuals and communities (behavioral intervention). Climate change adaptation is critical for vulnerable groups to cope with rising average temperatures and severe heat waves. As a structural intervention, we will test a passive cooling (cool roof) technology to decrease indoor exposure to extreme heat. The South East Asia Community Observatory (SEACO) health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS) serves as a solid foundation to conduct these interventions, equipping it with individual, home-based, and community-based sensors to enable cutting-edge climate change and health research, focusing on heat effects on health.