{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1836270,
        "msgid": "anticipating-extreme-heat-and-the-humanitarian-test-for-the-indonesian-red-cross-1782978924",
        "date": "2026-07-02 13:48:48",
        "title": "Anticipating extreme heat and the humanitarian test for the Indonesian Red Cross",
        "author": "",
        "source": "ANTARA_ID",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Social Policy",
        "summary": "Extreme heat is a 'silent killer' and a form of slow violence that disproportionately affects the urban poor, demanding a paradigm shift in disaster management. The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) must evolve from a reactive disaster response organisation into a proactive climate risk mitigation body. This requires a focus on public education, reaching vulnerable groups, and addressing the social inequalities that turn rising temperatures into a humanitarian crisis.",
        "content": "<p>In Indonesia, extreme heat does not appear as a disaster. Why?\nBecause it does not visibly cause damaged roads, collapsed buildings or\nswept-away cars. Nor does it force people to flee. Yet, in silence, this\nheat causes many deaths. This extreme heatwave must be read not merely\nas a weather anomaly, but as a new test for humanity. Heatwaves are a\nsilent killer. Rob Nixon (2011) called this kind of phenomenon a form of\nslow violence. It is a slow suffering because it does not explode all at\nonce, but takes place gradually, is dispersed, and often invisible to\nthe public. Heatwaves are one of the most tangible forms of slow\nviolence: not noisy, but deadly. Indonesia has so far misread heatwaves\nas a weather problem, when they have actually transformed into a\nhumanitarian crisis demanding a paradigm shift across all disaster\nmanagement organisations. We find climate change easier to imagine as\nmajor floods, storms, forest fires or prolonged droughts. The reality is\nnot so. It does not arrive as dramatically as the disasters we often see\non television screens, yet we must recognise it as a disaster. This\nextreme heat is different. It works in silence, slowly, often without\nsocial warning, and is frequently considered a normal part of life in a\ntropical country. On the streets, the heat is felt by outdoor workers\nwho continue to carry goods, direct traffic, repair buildings or sell\nwares under the sun. In narrow alleys in big cities like Jakarta or\nSurabaya, many poor residents build houses without ventilation. As a\nresult, the extreme heat turns their homes into furnaces. In dense\nsettlements, this condition makes families uncomfortable, as they also\nlack air conditioning. The World Meteorological Organization (2026)\nrecorded 2024 as the hottest year in 175 years of observation, with the\nglobal average temperature 1.55 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial\nlevels. This threat is no longer far off in the future. It is now\npresent around us. The next warning from this organisation is that in\n2026, when El Ni\u00f1o is expected to strengthen, the risks of drought, food\ndisruption, forest and land fires, declining air quality, respiratory\ninfections and heat-related illnesses will intensify. The increase in\nextreme heat must be moved from the periphery of environmental discourse\nto the centre of the public health agenda. When humans are exposed to\nextreme heat, it can trigger dehydration, exhaustion, heatstroke,\nrespiratory problems, and worsen heart disease, diabetes and mental\nhealth disorders. At its peak, the human body is no longer able to\nadapt. Heat gradually shifts from discomfort to a medical emergency.\nEric Klinenberg (2002), researching the 1995 Chicago heatwave tragedy,\nshowed that victims fell not solely because of high temperatures, but\ndue to a combination of social isolation, poverty, weak public services\nand the state\u2019s failure to read the risk. A crisis always has a social\nface. Rising extreme temperatures will heavily impact the poor. Those\nwith decent housing, air conditioning, access to clean water, health\ninsurance and flexible jobs are certainly more resilient. Conversely,\nthe elderly, toddlers, pregnant women, people with disabilities, chronic\ndisease sufferers, informal workers, labourers and the urban poor are on\nthe front line of risk from heatwave exposure. In big cities like\nJakarta, extreme heat meets dense settlements, limited green spaces, air\npollution and unequal access to basic services. Thus, talking about\nheatwaves also means talking about social justice. If poor citizens have\nno choice but to work under dangerous heat, then the failure lies not\nonly with the weather, but with the governance of protection for the\nurban poor. This is where climate change becomes a humanitarian crisis.\nIt does not stop at rising temperatures, but seeps into the physical\nbody, employment, food, health and the dignity of citizens. Ulrich Beck\n(1992) described modern society as living in a risk society, a state\nwhere dangers produced by modernity itself threaten social life on a\nbroad scale. In the context of extreme heat, that risk is now present in\nour own backyards. The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) has so far been known\nto be present when disasters strike. PMI appears when there are floods,\nearthquakes, fires, pandemics and various other emergencies. However,\nthe climate crisis demands a more advanced way of working. Until now,\nthe measure of success for a humanitarian organisation has been how\nquickly they arrive after a disaster. In the era of climate crisis, that\nmeasure is no longer sufficient. Success is now determined by how many\ncasualties can be prevented from falling due to extreme heat. PMI must\nchange from a disaster response organisation into a climate risk\nmitigation organisation. Therefore, PMI needs to strengthen a prevention\nperspective. A drought preparedness assembly as a consequence of El Ni\u00f1o\nhas already been conducted and led directly by the Central PMI\nChairperson, Jusuf Kalla, on 30 June. The effort currently being\nundertaken by the institution is providing 200 water trucks to supply\ndrought-affected areas. This initial initiative certainly needs\nfollow-up. There are several efforts that can be made in PMI\u2019s\nprevention approach. First, public education must be made simple,\nrepetitive and reach the most vulnerable groups. Citizens need to\nrecognise the danger signs of extreme heat, such as dizziness, nausea,\ncramps, hot skin, severe weakness, confusion and fainting.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/anticipating-extreme-heat-and-the-humanitarian-test-for-the-indonesian-red-cross-1782978924",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}