Exposing Hidden Heat: Mapping Heat-Driven Health Disparities and Advancing Policy Implications for Climate-Resilient Urban Development in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Extreme heat is an escalating climate threat in Dhaka—one of the world’s most densely populated and rapidly urbanizing cities. This transdisciplinary, mixed-methods study seeks to make the health effects of climate change visible by mapping hyperlocal heat disparities and linking them to health outcomes. We will conduct a temperature monitoring campaign using both stationary and mobile sensors to generate granular urban heat data, which will be linked to geocoded emergency department visits for heat-related illnesses to assess disparities in health impacts. To identify structural and environmental drivers of urban heat, we will apply advanced machine-learning techniques integrating satellite imagery, land use data, OpenStreetMap, and Google Street View. Co-created by environmental health scientists, climate and GIS experts, urban planners, architects, and local policymakers, this project prioritizes actionable, locally relevant solutions. The study will evaluate the feasibility of targeted interventions—such as street planting, rooftop and balcony gardens, mobile cooling stations, and community cooling spaces—using GIS and urban design methods, including a pilot implementation of mobile cooling stations. Focus groups with residents, community leaders, NGOs, and policymakers will identify opportunities and barriers to implementation. By revealing the heat-health disparities and co-developing scalable interventions, this project aims to catalyze equitable climate adaptation in Dhaka.