This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on February 16, 2026 - February 22, 2026

Nestled in a corner on the ground floor of PPR Beringin, a low-cost flat in Kuala Lumpur, is a “cooling centre” fitted with a water dispenser and a mist fan. The area is shaded, and visitors must take off their shoes to enter the space, which is maintained by local residents and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).

Nearby the cooling room are new sun sails that provide shade, next to a playground and a new gazebo, where residents can lounge to enjoy the breeze. There is a football court that lies exposed to the glaring sun — but surrounding it are young trees, newly planted and ready to cover the area with their canopy.

This is an initiative by C40 Cities, an organisation that works with cities around the world to mitigate climate change and increase resilience, with Zurich Malaysia, Z Zurich Foundation and DBKL under the Urban Climate Resilience Programme.

The PPR was identified as one of the heat hot spots in KL, and where many households are of the lower-income group and may be unable to afford cranking up their air conditioners all day. The C40 Cities team ran engagement sessions with the residents to understand their challenges and help propose sustainable solutions.

“Most of them are from the lower-income group, and sometimes they have three generations living in one small unit. We get anecdotes from the community about how they can’t sleep at night because it’s too hot,” says Siti Hajar Madina Mohd Zin, C40 community resilience adviser for KL.

In response, the team built the outdoor structures and the cooling centre to give residents a space to relax. C40 Cities is also currently conducting a study on thermal comfort — which considers not just heat but humidity — both indoors and outdoors at PPR Beringin.

This project highlights a challenge that Malaysia has to address urgently, as the world is all but certain to become warmer in the coming decades.

According to Malaysia’s Nationally Determined Contribution 3.0 submission to the United Nations last year, average annual temperatures are projected to rise 1.7°C to 2.1°C by 2100, intensifying water demand and heat stress.

This impact is worse on cities, due to their lack of green areas and the urban heat island effect, where dark coloured asphalt, steel and bricks trap heat. In fact, cities are heating up at twice the global average rate, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.

The consequences of a hotter world is devastating, impacting the elderly, children, outdoor workers and vulnerable groups the most. Heat-related illnesses include heat stroke, where the body is unable to cool down and can cause permanent disability or death.

A new study published in the Nature Sustainability journal in January highlighted how a 2°C hotter world will cause 41% of the projected world population in 2050 — up from the 23% of the world population in 2010 — to experience extreme heat. Tropical countries will suffer the most, and the global energy demand from air conditioning will outstrip that from heating.

By August 2025, Malaysia had recorded 46 cumulative cases of heat-related illnesses, according to the National Disaster Management Agency. In April 2024, 45 heat-related illnesses were reported in the first four months of the year, including two deaths due to heatstroke.

“We hope the findings from this project can be a reference for the city, to ensure that this is a consideration for new developments that come. We are also building community resilience, and getting people to know that the impact of heat is a real threat,” says Siti, adding that the team shares information from the Ministry of Health on heatwaves and heat-related illnesses with the residents.

“Our country is always hot, so we’re used to it. But that’s the dangerous part of it … This is where our awareness programme comes in, to tell people that climate change is real and it affects not only the temperature but our health and safety.”

The project by C40 Cities, which started three years ago, is just one of the emerging initiatives to tackle the heat problem. Think City, which has conducted land surface temperature (LST) studies in various cities, shared a heat map study of greater KL with The Habitat Foundation (THF) at the AlterCOP 30 Malaysia conference last November.

The researchers analysed cloud-free satellite images of greater KL and investigated the changes in LST from 1990 to 2023. As expected, they found significant increase of LST, with maximum temperatures rising from 33.05°C to 35.95°C.

The increase in temperatures tracks the expansion of industrial and residential areas, as well as highways. In 1990, only 0.56% of the region was hotter than 30°C. This rose to 13.6% in 2023, spreading beyond central KL to Gombak, Hulu Langat, Puchong, Subang Jaya and Klang.

Worryingly, the 10% of areas that have extreme LST, between 30.3°C and 36°C, have become even hotter in the last three decades. This includes Kuala Selangor, Gombak, Damansara, central KL, Ampang, Petaling, Shah Alam, Klang, Subang Jaya and Hulu Langat.

“This data shows decision-makers and stakeholders how the city is heated up, and what we should do to address it. Everyone knows that the temperature is rising, but where exactly is it heating up and who are the people living there?” says Kang Chuen Siang, senior manager at Think City.

“A temperature rise of 2°C at a high-income area might be less devastating compared with a public housing area. If you put more layers of data in, you can see the areas with very high temperatures are highly populated, and this is where the vulnerable community is staying.”

The study results clearly outline a solution to the heating problem: expanding green and forest zones. Cool zones below 25°C in Greater KL are confined to forest reserves, hilly areas and agricultural lands. Bukit Jelutong, Bukit Kiara and Bukit Gasing, which are forests located within dense urban developments, remain cool and help lower surrounding temperatures.

“When we zoomed into areas like Bukit Kiara and Bukit Gasing, the temperature is still rising but it’s less than 2°C across 30 years. Without the green area, the temperature rise is 3°C,” says Kang.

“There is an investment opportunity there for developers. If you keep the green areas, it is beneficial in the long term for your development … The business-as-usual in Malaysia is clearing the land and building a development, then replanting trees in one plot. Why don’t you keep the green ecosystem there, then build around it?”

Unfortunately, this cooling effect is reduced when there is too much development around the area, as shown in Taman Tasik Permaisuri. LST in the area fell from 1990 to 2015 due to the maturing tree canopy and stabilising effect of the lake. But LST increased by 2023, due to road upgrades, more residential and commercial projects and increased hardscape.

Think City and THF will be publicising the findings of the study this year and convening discussions with key government agencies, city officials, scientists and international organisations working on climate change adaptation, says Justine Vaz, executive director of THF.

“There is also a need to engage with civil society, the private sector, urban planners and even public health experts to fully explore the significance of the findings and what they portend. Urban heating is a national issue, and ideally this issue needs to be taken up at the highest level,” says Vaz.

Lower-income groups and the marginalised will be particularly impacted by heating, with less ability to adapt, she adds.

“Organisations and bodies that are focused on the human dimension of prolonged urban heat events arising from climate change will need to be prepared for these challenges in the future. To this end, THF will be sharing these findings with the Malaysian Philanthropic Network and discussing areas for further collaboration.”

Cities are to blame for the rising heat, and their inhabitants are the ones who will suffer the most from the impact. But cities can be developed properly to mitigate the heat impact.

This is an area that Gregers Reimann, managing director of IEN Consultants Sdn Bhd, is passionate about. The green building consultancy is responsible for the first zero energy office building in Malaysia, which is the office of the Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation in Bangi.

Reimann has been using his thermographic camera and Comfort Cube, a device that measures heat radiation, humidity, velocity and other factors, to measure the thermal comfort of different cities in Malaysia.

For instance, while he was in Melaka for a conference last July, he took a thermographic photo of Kampung Morten, which was next to his hotel. There was a significant heat difference between the zinc roofs of the houses and the asphalt roads with the green patches in the area.

“I showed these photos during my presentation, and it happened that there were some people studying the thermal comfort of the kampung there. They spoke to the residents of the village [who said] they accepted the heat. They don’t have air conditioners, and even running the fan constantly was too expensive for some families, so they just take frequent showers,” says Reimann.

He showed how thermal comfort, which measures not just air temperature but radiant temperature — the heat radiated from surfaces and materials — can differ drastically in places with shading and air movement.

There are a few low-hanging fruits that cities can adopt, including by planting more trees. “The radiant temperature goes down, and there’s more pedestrian comfort, and it reduces air pollution. There is also less storm water runoff,” says Reimann.

Dark-coloured surfaces tend to absorb more energy and radiate heat, so cities could opt for lighter coloured surfaces and use reflective paint or pavements.

Solar panels in the city are a challenge, Reimann points out. Solar panels absorb heat but only 20% of it is turned into electricity, he says.

“I’m more in favour of making our cities liveable and making them as cool as possible, so we should have light-coloured roofs and reflective paint and many trees. Maybe we can move solar panels out to industrial areas or solar parks,” says Reimann.

This is something that should be addressed in green building rating tools, and also consider the solar reflectance index (SRI) as a factor.

“At the moment, if you put solar panels on the roof, you are allowed to exempt the area from the SRI requirement. Only the rest of the roof has to comply. I don’t think we should accept that,” he says.

As for low-cost flats and buildings where the vulnerable communities live, he advocates for well-designed public housing that is naturally ventilated, so the residents can live comfortably amid the heat without having to spend on air conditioners. Unfortunately, the budget for designing these buildings tends to be low, which is a challenge to overcome.

Public-listed companies (PLC) in Malaysia are mandated to prepare sustainability reports according to the standards by the International Sustainability Standards Board, which requires them to assess the climate risks to their operations.

Scanning through the sustainability reports of PLCs in the construction and property sectors, extreme heat is identified as a risk, with some companies elaborating more than others.

Based on their 2024 integrated annual reports, Sime Darby Property Bhd, UEM Sunrise Bhd and IJM Corporation Bhd have brief sentences that view increased heat stress as a risk.

Sunway Construction Group Bhd and WCT Holdings Bhd identified heatwaves as a risk that could result in increased site shutdowns, health risks to workers and higher energy costs due to the increased use of air conditioners.

Tropicana Corporation Bhd, Mah Sing Group Bhd and Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB), meanwhile, have more extensive descriptions on the risk from extreme heat and the solutions to address it.

MRCB, for instance, identified extreme heat as a medium-risk, long-term hazard. Extreme heat could result in increased financial costs due to resource availability issues and asset damage, such as from the accelerated deterioration of construction materials and higher maintenance needs.

When contacted, MRCB chief corporate officer Amarjit Chhina says it conducts periodic climate scenario analysis, based on different potential climate outcomes, to identify and quantify the long-term climate risks to its business and its assets, and to formulate strategies and interventions.

The health and safety of its workers is critical to MRCB, which already has standard operating procedures developed in place that are immediately activated when these conditions arise. The SOPs are designed to restrict the exposure of its workers to these conditions and to ensure that workers take more breaks and remain properly hydrated.

The company has also developed the MRCB Building Systems, which is a modular construction method that allows up to 85% of its residential projects to be constructed offsite in a covered facility before modules are transported and installed onsite. This reduces the need for manpower, consequently resulting in fewer workers being exposed to extreme heat.

Meanwhile, green buildings — which are another focus of MRCB — also contribute to reducing urban heat by utilising designs and materials that lower temperatures and are more resilient against changes in the environment.

Mah Sing’s sustainability report shows the climate risks for its M Nova project site and its plastics manufacturing division, Mah Sing Plastics Industries Sdn Bhd (MSPI). Some key recommendations are providing sufficient green spaces and planting native trees, implementing temperature and humidity controls in storage areas, and introducing flexible work hours to minimise outdoor exposure during peak heat hours.

Construction works have a more limited duration, so the potential heat impact to workers is assessed to be low. For MSPI, however, heat risks are considered over a longer horizon. Existing mitigation measures include using UV-resistant additives in plastic products to maintain durability under prolonged heat exposure, says Mah Sing’s director of group strategy and operations Jane Leong.

“The group’s climate risk assessment highlights that prolonged exposure to high temperatures can accelerate material ageing and affect product performance,” explains Leong.

Material performance under high temperatures also has to be considered for the property development division, as prolonged heat exposure might accelerate wear and ageing. This can be addressed by leveraging passive design principles that support natural cooling.

“To manage heat-related product and material quality risks, the group continues to incorporate appropriate material specifications, quality assurance processes, and climate-responsive design considerations that take into account local weather conditions in the long run,” says Leong.

But, ultimately, extreme heat cannot be solved by one party alone. Leong suggests that the government establish a clear national heat action plan, set workplace heat standards, and implement early warning systems or public heat alerts.

“In addition, incentives for cooling-efficiency upgrades and the adoption of energy-efficient ventilation and climate-control technologies would also help companies accelerate investments in worker protection and operational resilience,” she says.

Meanwhile, Tropicana senior general manager for group corporate communications and head of the ESG unit Serena Lim says to reduce the heat impact at its Golf and Country Resort, the company planted trees that provide shade, complementing its dragonfly and bird sanctuary on the golf course.

Additionally, “to significantly help to overcome heat-related issues, Tropicana development is introducing drought-tolerant plants in our projects. The drought-tolerant species are adapted to handle high temperatures and low water”, says Lim. 

Other than that, the company is also focusing on green buildings, using sustainable materials and considering active and passive cooling, among other things.

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