This month’s update covers key developments in our field trials, partnerships, and community-led cooling initiatives as we prepare for an even more ambitious year ahead.

The Nemesis of Planet A

This peer-reviewed article examines how extreme heat acts as a “silent killer” in urban West Africa and explores innovative, low-cost cooling interventions through the MEER pilot in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The study highlights lived experiences of heat vulnerability among low-income residents and evaluates how surface cooling technologies and community-oriented design can reduce heat exposure in informal settlements.