RESILIENT AND
INCLUSIVE CITIES LAB
Cooling Singapore 2.0
Cooling Singapore 2.0
Description:
Urban heat stress is a hot topic in Singapore. The combined effects of urban heat and climate change create a significant risk of heat stress. Together with collaborators from SMU, NUS and government stakeholders, we tried to quantify urban heat risk across Singapore and how it may be mitigated by nature-based solutions. Check out the infographic on the right for a complete visual overview of the broader project and our collaborations.
Nature-based solutions, including forest protection, urban tree planting and green roofs, can provide urban heat mitigation. However, it is unclear whether climate change will impact the plant species used in these solutions and the ecosystem services they provide. Thus, we focused on:
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Understanding the climate-resilient species better. We conducted a systematic review that revealed evidence gaps in the responses of tropical plants to climate change, which currently limit our understanding of how ecosystem services will change in future climates.
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Predicting potential changes in ecosystem service provision. We leveraged the InVEST Urban Cooling model. This open-source decision-support tool allowed us to identify fine-scale heat patterns, quantify the cooling benefits of trees and green spaces across Singapore, and predict the benefits of nature-based solutions under future climate and urban planning scenarios. By coupling this tool with the InVEST nature access model, the research team further examined the trade-offs between Singapore’s multi-ecosystem services within its park networks.
Project leads: Emma Ramsay & Assoc. Prof. Perrine Hamel
Publications:
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SMU City Perspectives. (2023) Cooling Singapore 2.0: A step towards becoming a climate resilient and regenerative city
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Ramsay, E. et al. (2024). Humid heat stress overlooked for one billion people in urban informal settlements
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Ramsay, E. et al. (2025). Assessing a decision-support tool to estimate the cooling potential and economic savings from urban vegetation in Singapore.
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