Ministry of Combating Heat
One of the biggest problems facing Kuwaiti citizens, after they confirm that their pension has arrived and the bank has not deducted anything new, is two issues that need no introduction: the streets and the heat.
When he leaves his home, he does not know whether he will reach his workplace safely or return with a new spare part for his car. The truth is that potholes in Kuwait enjoy an advantage that many employees do not: continuity.
Whenever we fill a pothole, another one appears, as if the potholes operate on a rotation system; one retires and the next one comes out, and when the second one takes leave, the third one appears! Sometimes I feel that some road paving companies treat them like a manufacturer treats electrical appliances: the device must last for a limited period, then break down, so we buy a new spare part!
The cause may be the quality or thickness of the asphalt, the method of implementation, or maintenance; I am not an expert in asphalt science, but I understand something simple: if a street cannot withstand more than a few years, then something needs to be reviewed. However, despite all their problems, the streets are not the biggest issue.
We are not talking about a passing summer, but about a long season that makes going out into the street on some days akin to a short trip to an oven. Therefore, I seriously, yet playfully, propose the creation of a Ministry to Combat Heat.
Some may laugh; but we need a government body with limited responsibility tasked with a single question: How can we make life in Kuwait less hot?
We do not want an entity that issues a statement in August saying, “The weather is hot, and exposure to the sun should be avoided.” Citizens know this before they even read the statement! We want an entity that thinks about the city itself.
In a previous article, I proposed developing service areas in each suburb in a manner similar to the “Avenues” concept: a cooled or shaded zone featuring facilities for children, green spaces, walking paths, and a genuine outlet for families.
Today, a mother tells her children, “Let’s go to the park,” the family goes out, and after a few minutes returns home as if they had just completed a journey to the Empty Quarter! We do not need beautiful parks that exist only in photographs, but places that people can actually use.
There may come a day when a citizen asks:
Our trees are excellent government employees: they work all day, do not request housing allowances, and do not submit letters complaining that the office is hot!
Why not consider creating waterways in some new areas, relocating certain industrial activities from the heart of the capital, and gradually transforming their sites into green spaces and public recreational areas?
When people cannot find a suitable place to walk or exercise, inactivity becomes part of their lifestyle. When this happens, the cost of illnesses and treatment becomes a burden on the state.
With rising temperatures and climate change, the ability to cope with heat will become an increasingly important issue in the coming years.
Smart nations do not wait for a problem to turn into a crisis before forming a committee to study its causes.
Therefore, we truly need a “Ministry to Combat Heat” in name, so that we can declare to the world that we are facing a geographical challenge about which we are the most knowledgeable and best informed.
The new Kuwait we dream of cannot be defined merely by new roads and new buildings.
We want a Kuwait where people can walk, sit, play, breathe, and live… even when summer is at its harshest.
