Kuwait City, Karachi and the Iranian city of Ahvaz all experience some of the highest temperatures in the world. Such extreme heat, combined with poor air quality and planning, can have grave effects, especially for their poorest residents.<\/p>\n
Sharifa Alshalfan, an architect based in Kuwait City, explains that Kuwaitis spend all of their time indoors. \u201cIt\u2019s almost as if the outdoors doesn\u2019t exist,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s the mindset of people here.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s true that Kuwait City is one of the hottest cities in the world. On average, summer is hotter than in desert city Timbuktu, which sits on the edge of the Sahara. But it\u2019s also wealthy \u2013 modern Kuwait City is built on oil money \u2013 which is why most Kuwaitis don\u2019t really experience the heat; they can afford to avoid it. It\u2019s generally only those on lower incomes, many of them immigrants from southeast Asia, that Alshalfan will see shading themselves under umbrellas on the street or riding public buses.<\/p>\n
While Kuwaitis may be convinced that they\u2019re living in the hottest city on the planet, there is at least one place that may be able to top it \u2013 if not for highest-ever temperature, then certainly for the impact of heat on its population. Iran\u2019s Ahvaz, in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan, sometimes exceeds 50C in July. Yet it\u2019s not so much the heat as the pollution that makes life unbearable for Ahvaz\u2019s 1.5 million residents.<\/p>\n
Kuwait City, Karachi and the Iranian city of Ahvaz all experience some of the highest temperatures in the world. Such extreme heat, combined with poor air quality and planning, can have grave effects, especially for their poorest residents. Sharifa Alshalfan, … Sigue leyendo ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.smbosque.es\/sargento\/files\/2017\/02\/1-1-300x180.jpg\")
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