When Heat Becomes Dangerous: How Southeast Asia Is Cooling Cities | Beating The Heat - Part 1/2

As extreme heat moves deeper into daily life across Southeast Asia, communities are testing ways to protect the places people cannot simply leave. In Indonesia, women farmers and residents turn unused land into food gardens that may cool their surroundings. In Bangkok, schoolchildren enter a hot-house simulation while volunteers map homes at greatest risk. In Kuala Lumpur and Melaka, residents of low-cost flats work with researchers and city partners to measure indoor heat, create cooling spaces and test heat-reflective paint. In Hanoi, a heritage shophouse and a modern five-storey home reveal how shade and airflow can reduce reliance on air-conditioning. Together, these experiments ask what it takes to turn local knowledge into everyday protection before the next hot day arrives. Note: Full English subs are available. Turn on CC to Auto-Translate into your preferred language. WATCH MORE Beating The Heat Part 2: https://youtu.be/iCSYkyZXpws 00:00 Introduction 00:41 An Indonesian garden fighting urban heat 03:29 Can urban farms really cool cities? 08:55 How Jakarta turns unused land into farms 11:48 How Bangkok teaches children about heat danger 14:44 When homes become dangerously hot 17:09 Mapping the homes most at risk 19:46 Designing cooler communities with residents 22:20 Why Malaysian public housing traps heat overnight 27:06 Turning a lobby into a cooling centre 29:03 Measuring heat inside homes in Malacca 32:15 Can reflective paint cool buildings? 34:38 Why Hanoi homes stay hot after dark 36:27 Ancient designs that keep homes cool 38:14 Inside Vietnam’s modern house that breathes 41:39 How passive cooling works 42:59 Can passive cooling spread across Hanoi? 44:34 Four countries, four ways to beat heat ========= About the show: Across Asia, communities and experts test ways to protect homes and neighbourhoods from rising heat, without leaving the vulnerable behind. ========== #CNAInsider #BeatingTheHeatCNA #Asia #SoutheastAsia #Indonesia #Bangkok #Malaysia #Vietnam #Heat #ElNino #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming For more, SUBSCRIBE to CNA INSIDER https://cna.asia/insideryoutubesub Follow CNA INSIDER on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnainsider/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cnainsider/ Website: https://cna.asia/cnainsider