Straits Times Forum 24 Jun 13;
WHILE Singaporeans suffer the worst haze in years, it might be opportune to draw attention to another environmental problem we face - rising temperatures.
Though the haze may be blamed for higher temperatures in the last few days, other factors have contributed to the warming trend.
One factor is the proportion of built-up space in housing estates.
The urban heat island effect (the observation that cities are warmer than surrounding areas) is well documented, and man-made building materials absorb and radiate more heat than natural surfaces. Yet over the years, more and more green areas and open spaces have been paved or tiled over, while mature trees have often been replaced by young ones.
These paved spaces are much better than natural surfaces at storing heat during the day and radiating it in the evenings.
New suburban shopping malls worsen the problem by venting multiple storeys' worth of air-conditioning heat out into the surroundings.
Besides the discomfort they cause us, rising temperatures also speed up the life cycle of insects, facilitating the spread of diseases like dengue.
We risk negating all our efforts in building a liveable city if we do not take positive steps to cool it down.
Green spaces in housing estates have to be protected and the amount of built-up space per resident kept down.
Agencies such as the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the National Environment Agency should monitor these trends.
Rayner Teo Yunwei
