The Ministry of Environment yesterday announced the establishment of a public-private alliance focusing on formulating heat adaptation strategies, and jointly developing heat adaptation road maps and mechanisms.
The collaboration would help the Taiwanese public in combating extreme heat and contribute to its overall heat adaptation capacity, the ministry said.
The ministry introduced the alliance composed of government agencies, enterprises and civil groups during a launch ceremony.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
Sixty-three companies — including brick-and-mortar and online retailers, air-conditioning and cooling system providers, transportation services and construction firms — joined the alliance, the ministry said.
The alliance would strive to tackle extreme heat by establishing a heat emergency response mechanism and holding heat adaption drills, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭?明) told the ceremony.
It would also work toward developing a national “cool map” for people to find air-conditioned places where they can escape the summer heat, as well as coordinating inter-ministerial data, and pooling the resources of central and local government agencies to address energy poverty.
While there is an emergency response center, which is activated in the event of an emergency, such as typhoons, there is no equivalent for heat waves, Peng said.
The ministry aims to introduce a set of indicators to assess the severity of heat, he said.
The goal is to gradually establish early warning indicators for extreme heat across different sectors and enhance the adaption capacity of vulnerable groups, he added.
Peng said that this year, the Central Weather Administration’s (CWA) “orange” and “red” heat alerts would be used as the activation standard for heat drills, with the aim of gradually implementing a formalized system.
The CWA would issue an orange alert when temperatures top 36°C for three consecutive days, or when maximum temperatures are more than 38°C, and it would issue a red alert when temperatures remain more than 38°C for three consecutive days.
On the issue of heat-related days off, Peng said that the priority should be on enhancing protection measures for businesses and people.
For example, outdoor workers need better equipment to cope with extreme heat, he added.
Extreme heat conditions might only last for a few hours within a single day, making it difficult to justify a full-day “heat holiday,” Deputy Minister of Environment Shih Wen-chen (施文真) said.
The ministry in a statement said that to raise public awareness on heat adaptation, an exhibition would be held from next month to September in northern, central and southern Taiwan.
The exhibition would place special focus on the urban heat island effect in metropolitan areas, aiming to inspire public action to combat urban heat, it said.
The exhibition in the north is scheduled to take place from July 25 to 27 in the lobby of Taipei Mass Rapid Transit System’s Daan Park Station, it said.
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