Beating the city heat

Re: "Cooling centres need shade on the way", (BP, April 12) & "BMA wades into bus shelter debate", (BP, March 17).

Bangkok's decision to create cooling centres is a humane response to extreme heat.

Yet, the attempt must not stop at air-conditioned rooms or cool-acclimatised spaces.

The everyday route matters too: the walk to a bus stop, the wait at an intersection, the queue outside a clinic and the stretch between a station and home. A person may spend only 10 minutes in each place, but those minutes add up under direct sun.