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Cities across the Middle East must embed heat resilience into how they plan, invest, and govern, according to a new report from PwC, which sets out a five-step heat resilience approach to help cities in the Middle East respond to extreme heat.

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The report finds that no single fix will protect cities from rising temperatures. Instead, it says, leaders need to combine physical changes to the urban environment, smarter use of data and technology, and stronger coordination across government, all backed by locally tailored Heat Action Plans that link emergency preparedness with long-term adaptation.

A region under pressure

Temperatures in the region are rising at almost twice the global average, and several countries already experience summer highs above 50°C.  The report argues that extreme heat now affects almost every part of city life, including public health, infrastructure, economic activity, and quality of life.  Around 55% of the global population lives in urban areas, a share expected to reach 68% by 2050, which raises the stakes for dense cities where buildings, roads, and paved surfaces absorb heat during the day and release it after sunset.

Infrastructure is already feeling the strain. The report points to 2022, when temperatures above 51°C contributed to widespread electricity failures across southern Iraq and left millions of people without power. In Gulf countries, where desalination supplies around 75% of urban water, hotter seawater can reduce the performance of desalination plants and raise energy needs.

The economic costs are significant as well. In 2020, 12 global cities together lost $44 billion in productivity because of extreme heat, and that figure could almost double to $84 billion by 2050 without action. For the world’s largest cities, heat-related productivity losses could reduce economic output by 1.4% to 1.7% by 2050, and by as much as 11% by the end of the century.

The report also stresses that heat does not affect everyone equally. Low-income neighborhoods often have fewer trees, more heat-absorbing surfaces, and older buildings with limited cooling, while older adults, children, people with chronic illness, and outdoor workers face higher health risks.

“Extreme heat is a city-wide challenge, but an unequal one,” said Imad Shahrouri, partner at PwC. “Older adults, children, people living with chronic illness, and outdoor workers are also particularly vulnerable as exposure to extreme heat can increase the risk of heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Heat, therefore, compounds vulnerabilities associated with income, housing, and health.”

“Without targeted adaptation, cities risk widening social disparities and increasing long-term public health costs.”

Three shifts in cities around the world

The report highlights three shifts among cities that are responding most effectively. The first is redesigning urban areas to reduce heat exposure. Riyadh aims to plant 7.5 million trees by 2030, and researchers found that combining cool materials with green spaces could lower peak summer temperatures there by up to 4.5°C and cut cooling energy use by around 16%.

These interventions have also worked in other regions. For example, Medellín in Colombia has built more than 30 connected green corridors that have lowered local temperatures by up to two degrees Celsius, while Paris has created more than 800 cool islands that are between two and four degrees cooler than surrounding streets.

The second shift is using data and technology to anticipate heat rather than react to it. Singapore uses digital models to test how building height, street layout, and greenery affect comfort before construction begins, and Melbourne uses a climate model to identify vulnerabilities and compare adaptation options.

The third shift is stronger governance. Take, for example, Freetown in Sierra Leone and Athens in Greece, both of which appointed Chief Heat Officers to coordinate action across departments. Meanwhile, Ahmedabad in India developed South Asia’s first comprehensive Heat Action Plan after a severe heatwave, bringing together government, universities, healthcare providers, and telecommunications companies.

“The strongest lesson from leading cities is that heat resilience depends as much on governance as on physical interventions,” Shahrouri said.

Five actions for city leaders

The report sets out a five-step approach for Middle East cities:

First, cities should assess heat exposure and risk by building a clear evidence base on where heat builds up and which systems are most vulnerable.

Second, they should identify vulnerable communities by finding where high temperatures overlap with age, health, income, housing, and access to cooling.

Third, cities should explore solutions that combine passive measures, such as trees, reflective materials, and shaded public spaces, with active cooling, such as cooling centers and district cooling. The report cautions that active cooling can increase energy demand, so it should support rather than replace passive measures.

Fourth, cities should build financial capacity by measuring the costs of inaction and the wider benefits of adaptation. As one example, Abu Dhabi’s building retrofit program aims to upgrade 3,000 buildings and recover the costs through the resulting energy savings.

Fifth, cities should monitor and adapt their Heat Action Plans as risks change. The report notes that governments in the region have already taken steps, including Qatar’s protections for outdoor workers, Abu Dhabi’s Safety in Heat program, and Saudi Arabia’s health measures for Hajj.

“The priority is to combine these interventions in ways that strengthen resilience without unnecessarily increasing long-term energy demand,” said Fouad Salem, Partner at PwC.

Acting now

The report also highlights the role of governance, partnerships, data, and public communication, and notes that AI and satellite imagery can help cities map neighborhood-level temperature differences. It warns that within the next 25 years, 1.6 billion people across nearly 1,000 cities are projected to face regular extreme heatwaves.

“The Middle East is seeing significant investment in the future of its cities,” said Salem. “This gives governments an opportunity to consider heat resilience early in the planning and development process. The focus should be on understanding local exposures and risks, choosing solutions that work for each city, and making heat resilience part of long-term investment decisions. Many of the building blocks are already in place across the region, and there is a strong opportunity to build on that progress.”

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