Latest News

Interdisciplinarity is recognised as key when researching climate extremes, including extreme heat. This is because understanding and reducing risk from these climate extremes requires the intersection of several research areas that encompass the physical hazard and the social aspects. Extreme heat is different from other climate extremes, because the multitude of considerations aren’t always obvious from the outset.

It is April 2025, and both Cambodian cities, Phnom Penh, the capital, and Siem Reap, the tourist hub for the UNESCO World Heritage Site Angkor Wat are bustling. Despite the thermometer touching 36°C with more than 60% humidity, I still see tourists flocking around, taking the walking or tuk-tuk/car group tours continue despite the heat. To better understand the city, I decided to join one in Phnom Penh.

Ayo, standing inside an excevation pit, explains the various layers he’s coming across. “in this pit there are about four layers,” he tells us. “The bottom is scrap metal, followed by waste from the Eveready Battery Company, then a soil layer covering the waste, and finally polythene papers on the surface.” Waingo asks if Ayo has passed the ash layer while digging. Ayo shakes his head. “No, here we’re just digging on luck,” he says.