Eleni Myrivili is a pioneer in helping the world’s cities adapt to extreme heat.
By 2050, heat waves are expected to affect more than 3.5 billion people globally, at least half of whom live in urban areas. The toll is often deadly: As many as 61,000 people may have died during European heatwaves in the summer of 2022. The last decade has been the hottest ever recorded.
As the United Nations’ first global heat chief, Myrivili spends a lot of her time thinking about cities — in particular, how to keep people safe in a warming world. She helps cities prepare and advocates for them to adopt resilience measures, such as heat-resistant infrastructure and policies that will protect laborers, children, the elderly, and others.