A project to minimize the impact of heat waves on vulnerable groups in Hanoi was launched by the Vietnam Red Cross Society (VRCS) at a conference in the capital city on November 28.
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The pilot project is known as "Ready for FbF" and aims to seek measures and early actions to reduce negative impacts on outdoor workers and the elderly people.
According to Vice Chairman of the VRCS Tran Quoc Hung, Vietnam is one of the countries most susceptible to natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific region. it is also among the five countries forecast to be the hardest hit by disasters and climate change.
Hung said Vietnam is expected to face increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters, adding that the average temperature in recent years has increased due to climate change and urbanization, especially in big cities and crowded residential areas.
The pilot project also aims to develop early actions to respond to high temperatures, towards safeguarding locals from disasters, and helping the VRCS work out early action plans for other natural disasters in Vietnam, Hung noted.
The FbF was firstly launched by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent in 2013. The model has been expanded to 22 countries, including three in the Asia Pacific, namely the Philippines, Bangladesh and Vietnam.
Heat wave is more likely to affect the health of urban people, especially those with high construction density such as Hanoi. In recent years, the average temperature in Hanoi has increased every year. The effects of heat wave are increasingly evident by the "heat island effect," due to human actions, consumption of fossil fuels and dense construction that obstruct air circulation.
