Heat has become the defining summer risk in much of urban Asia, and the response has moved from advisory notices to physical change.
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Tree planting and shade structures deliver the largest measured reductions in street-level temperature per unit spent, ahead of most engineered solutions.
Building codes are slower to shift. Cooling requirements raise construction costs, and enforcement in informal housing is close to non-existent.
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Cities that appointed a single official responsible for heat have moved fastest, largely because the problem crosses every departmental boundary.
