Every week the latest episode in this groundbreaking series is available to steam straight to your computer. You can also get a behind the scenes look at each film by reading the directors comments.
By producer/Director Mallary Gelb
The team of young men dressed in military style overalls and facemasks loaded their weapons and stood ready for action. This was Jakarta's answer to climate change and we were there to follow them. Known simply as 'foggers" these men use their "guns" to fire giant clouds of insecticide smothering entire neighbourhoods. The bewildered homeowners simply stand by and watch helplessly, inhaling the pungent fumes. This is Jakarta's response to the extremely worrying increase in the painful and sometimes deadly mosquito borne disease, Dengue Fever. Everyone in this Asian city seems to have his or her own Dengue story; it's so ubiquitous these days. Even our invaluable "fixer", Dewa, was summoned back to his day job because so many of his colleagues were in hospital with the disease. It's a looming crisis for the city. And everyone in Jakarta seems to agree on what's to blame: climate change. The city's scientists and the public alike all say it's raining more and raining when it used to be dry. They say Jakarta's traditional dry season has vanished allowing Dengue-carrying mosquitoes to flourish all year round. The authorities hope that "fogging" and other measure they are introducing will keep the disease under control. But it's a big wish.
The impact of climate change on the spread of disease and the affect on world health could be dramatic. In this episode of “Hot Cities” we go to Jakarta, a sprawling city of 12 million people. It's also under threat from a new increase in dengue fever, for which there is no cure. Even rich countries are vulnerable. A deadly heat wave hit Chicago in 1995 killing hundreds of people. “Hot Cities” looks at the adaptation strategy Chicago has introduced to make sure it does not happen again.
