Southeast Asia’s cities are at ‘high risk’ of flooding and heatwaves, thanks to climate change

In recent weeks, there have been viral images from the Philippines show couples exchanging wedding vows in flooded churches after Tropical Storm Wipha made landfall in late-July. The storm swept through southern China and central Vietnam, with heavy rain causing flooding in both locations.

Vietnam and the Philippines are used to periods of intense rain, but climate change threatens to make these events more severe. Southeast Asia as a whole faces an escalating climate risk, due its densely populated cities, frequent heavy rain, and insufficient infrastructure.

Recent modelling from Zurich Resilience Solutions found that six major cities in Southeast Asia—Singapore, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and Manila—all face at least a “high risk” of extreme precipitation, h