Confronting a “silent killer:” reducing vulnerability to extreme heat in urban West Africa with surface cooling technology and climate-resilient roofing

Extreme heat is a potent and progressively worsening public health problem confronting West Africa, where heat stress remains “a silent killer”. Most heat deaths occur in cities, driven by the urban heat island effect. In wealthier cities, air conditioning is the primary means of adapting to extreme heat, but Sierra Leone has one of the lowest electricity access rates in the world, making this climate intervention unaffordable and unreliable. One novel intervention to extreme heat is “Surface Cooling Technology” or “Surface Radiative Thermal Management” (SRTM). STRM interventions, unlike climate mitigation or adaptation, can produce very fast results, they do not involve politically difficult legislation, and they can involve modular and lower-risk technologies. This study explores the history, benefits, and challenges of one STRM pilot project, Mirrors for Earth’s Energy Rebalancing (MEER) in Freetown, Sierra Leone. MEER relies on a form of direct cooling technology to reduce urban heat by increasing albedo and infrared emissivity. To provide community benefits, MEER also makes furniture out of recycled PET bottles, which they give away at no cost so people can sit in the shade beneath the mirrors, alleviating exposure to extreme heat. The study is based on a qualitative research design involving: (a) site visits across Freetown (N = 8), including three “slums” or informal settlements where they are putting mirrors and reflective surfaces to the greatest potential use to help vulnerable women and children; (b) N = 28 semi-structured interviews including community residents and members of local government; (c) a community survey, and (d) document analysis. In laying out the case study of MEER, the study aims to address a neglected focus on climate interventions to heat in urban areas in Sierra Leone and highlight the daily lived experiences of the poorest and most vulnerable residents of a city who struggle with extreme heat conditions.