Anticipating extreme heat and the humanitarian test for the Indonesian Red Cross

In Indonesia, extreme heat does not appear as a disaster. Why? Because it does not visibly cause damaged roads, collapsed buildings or swept-away cars. Nor does it force people to flee. Yet, in silence, this heat causes many deaths. This extreme heatwave must be read not merely as a weather anomaly, but as a new test for humanity. Heatwaves are a silent killer. Rob Nixon (2011) called this kind of phenomenon a form of slow violence. It is a slow suffering because it does not explode all at once, but takes place gradually, is dispersed, and often invisible to the public. Heatwaves are one of the most tangible forms of slow violence: not noisy, but deadly. Indonesia has so far misread heatwaves as a weather problem, when they have actually transformed into a humanitarian crisis demanding a paradigm shift across all disaster management organisations. We find climate change easier to imagine as major floods, storms, forest fires or prolonged droughts. The reality is not so. It does not arrive as dramatically as the disasters we often see on television screens, yet we must recognise it as a disaster. This extreme heat is different. It works in silence, slowly, often without social warning, and is frequently considered a normal part of life in a tropical country. On the streets, the heat is felt by outdoor workers who continue to carry goods, direct traffic, repair buildings or sell wares under the sun. In narrow alleys in big cities like Jakarta or Surabaya, many poor residents build houses without ventilation. As a result, the extreme heat turns their homes into furnaces. In dense settlements, this condition makes families uncomfortable, as they also lack air conditioning. The World Meteorological Organization (2026) recorded 2024 as the hottest year in 175 years of observation, with the global average temperature 1.55 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. This threat is no longer far off in the future. It is now present around us. The next warning from this organisation is that in 2026, when El Niño is expected to strengthen, the risks of drought, food disruption, forest and land fires, declining air quality, respiratory infections and heat-related illnesses will intensify. The increase in extreme heat must be moved from the periphery of environmental discourse to the centre of the public health agenda. When humans are exposed to extreme heat, it can trigger dehydration, exhaustion, heatstroke, respiratory problems, and worsen heart disease, diabetes and mental health disorders. At its peak, the human body is no longer able to adapt. Heat gradually shifts from discomfort to a medical emergency. Eric Klinenberg (2002), researching the 1995 Chicago heatwave tragedy, showed that victims fell not solely because of high temperatures, but due to a combination of social isolation, poverty, weak public services and the state’s failure to read the risk. A crisis always has a social face. Rising extreme temperatures will heavily impact the poor. Those with decent housing, air conditioning, access to clean water, health insurance and flexible jobs are certainly more resilient. Conversely, the elderly, toddlers, pregnant women, people with disabilities, chronic disease sufferers, informal workers, labourers and the urban poor are on the front line of risk from heatwave exposure. In big cities like Jakarta, extreme heat meets dense settlements, limited green spaces, air pollution and unequal access to basic services. Thus, talking about heatwaves also means talking about social justice. If poor citizens have no choice but to work under dangerous heat, then the failure lies not only with the weather, but with the governance of protection for the urban poor. This is where climate change becomes a humanitarian crisis. It does not stop at rising temperatures, but seeps into the physical body, employment, food, health and the dignity of citizens. Ulrich Beck (1992) described modern society as living in a risk society, a state where dangers produced by modernity itself threaten social life on a broad scale. In the context of extreme heat, that risk is now present in our own backyards. The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) has so far been known to be present when disasters strike. PMI appears when there are floods, earthquakes, fires, pandemics and various other emergencies. However, the climate crisis demands a more advanced way of working. Until now, the measure of success for a humanitarian organisation has been how quickly they arrive after a disaster. In the era of climate crisis, that measure is no longer sufficient. Success is now determined by how many casualties can be prevented from falling due to extreme heat. PMI must change from a disaster response organisation into a climate risk mitigation organisation. Therefore, PMI needs to strengthen a prevention perspective. A drought preparedness assembly as a consequence of El Niño has already been conducted and led directly by the Central PMI Chairperson, Jusuf Kalla, on 30 June. The effort currently being undertaken by the institution is providing 200 water trucks to supply drought-affected areas. This initial initiative certainly needs follow-up. There are several efforts that can be made in PMI’s prevention approach. First, public education must be made simple, repetitive and reach the most vulnerable groups. Citizens need to recognise the danger signs of extreme heat, such as dizziness, nausea, cramps, hot skin, severe weakness, confusion and fainting.