Experts advocate urban agriculture to combat city heat

Experts have emphasised the urgent need to promote urban agriculture - such as rooftop gardening and greening vacant spaces - to combat rising temperatures.
The call came during a roundtable discussion titled "Urban-Peri-Urban Agriculture in Changing Climatic Conditions", held on the third day of the 4th International Conference on Urban and Regional Planning, organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) today (12 May).
Ahmed Kamruzzaman Majumder, chairman of the Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS), said, "The more we green our rooftops and open spaces, the better we can control urban heat."
He noted growing awareness among urban dwellers, citing recent studies showing rooftop gardens on 39% of buildings in Dhanmondi, 36% in Lalmatia and even higher figures in Uttara.
Independent University professor Md Hafizur Rahman and Mohammad Saifur Rahman, joint secretary (forest-2) at the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, also spoke at the event.