Indeed, temperatures in Boon Keng are a couple of degrees Celsius warmer than in Bukit Timah, he said, identifying the latter as “one of the coolest places in Singapore to live”.
For example, in Old Holland Road, where “there’s less concrete, there’s less asphalt, more grass, large gardens”, he described, its green spaces “cool the environment substantially”.
Physical exposure to heat is one factor in heat vulnerability. Another is the concentration of the elderly population, who are more at risk of heat stress or heat stroke.
And fewer elderly people live in Bukit Timah than, say, Clementi, which was built up in the 1970s and 80s. Residents in mature HDB estates “tend to stay there for the duration of their lives”, noted Chow.
The third factor is income: People who are unemployed or have below-average incomes have fewer resources or finances to keep cool.
WATCH: Can we beat the heat without air-conditioning? (23:23)