A study has found that Cape Town neighbourhoods with densely packed buildings and no trees face temperatures up to 15°C higher than some other areas in the city.

In recent years, climate change has significantly escalated the effects of extreme heat across urban South Africa, increasing pressure on public health, energy infrastructure and economic productivity.

As the region continues to experience an increase in the number of hot days and warm nights, researchers and community volunteers from across Cape Town embarked on a community heat-mapping campaign to identify areas facing greater exposure to extreme heat.

The Heat Watch campaign involved a participatory mapping process to gather tens of thousands of air measurements in a single day across Cape Town. This formed part of a broader effort across South Africa to pinpoint specific locations within cities that are vulnerable to extreme heat exposure in a warming world.

The campaign is part of the World Bank's City Resilience Programme and the National Treasury's Cities Support Programme. It was conducted by Capa Strategies in partnership with the World Bank Group, the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, the City of Cape Town and the Community Organisation Resource Centre.

Bradley Riley, a disaster risk management specialist for the World Bank, said: "Extreme heat poses challenges for almost all aspects of life in cities, including health, food and water security, the economy,...