How are cities responding to the growing risks of extreme weather?

Today’s cities face huge challenges in both preparing for and recovering from the growing impact of extreme weather events.

From extreme heat across southern Europe to the heaviest rainfall on record in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, to flooding in Brazil and cyclones devastating parts of southern Africa, cities face unprecedented physical risks.

Four in five cities across the world now face significant climate hazards such as heatwaves, floods and droughts, according to non-profit CDP, which surveyed 998 cities. Much of this extreme weather is down to a changing climate, and in the latter part of 2023, it’s coupled with the cyclical effects of El Nino.

“Many cities are facing multiple threats from extreme weather,” says Jeremy Kelly, Global Director of Cities Research at JLL. “While they currently establish longer-term resilience plans, they’re also having to deal with the immediate consequences of unprecedented and costly weather events.”

Changing weather patterns have huge implications for real estate and the people that live in cities. For nearly a third of cities surveyed by CDP, climate-related hazards pose a threat to at least 70% of their populations.

More than 90% of the world’s largest companies will have at least one asset - offices, factories, warehouses or data centers - financially exposed to climate risks such as water stress, wildfires or floods by the 2050s, according to S&P Global.

Rising temperatures have broken records for longer and more intense heatwaves in multiple urban areas in recent years. Cities, in response, are implementing a range of policies and measures to cool their streets.