By Faridat Salifu
Journalists, content creators and media professionals have been trained to investigate the human impact of rising temperatures and report how heat exposure affects vulnerable populations as part of efforts to make climate risks more visible.
Extreme heat is increasingly becoming a public health and urban inequality challenge, affecting how millions of Lagos residents work, move and live, with outdoor workers, commuters and pedestrians facing some of the highest risks.
The three-day Hotsteppers Media Training, organised under the Hotsteppers Active Lives in Hot Spots project, equipped media actors with tools to report extreme heat beyond weather forecasts by connecting climate, health, mobility and urban development.
The project seeks to understand and address health risks linked to heat exposure among people who walk, cycle and use public transport in Lagos, while generating evidence to support cooler and more climate-resilient transport systems.
During the training and stakeholders’ workshop held recently in Lagos, researchers, government agencies, transport experts, urban planners and implementing partners discussed ways to strengthen responses to rising urban temperatures.
Stakeholders identified extreme heat as not only an environmental issue but also a public health and mobility challenge affecting pedestrians, cyclists, public transport users, informal workers, productivity and overall urban liveability.
The workshop identified 11 priority locations for the first phase of participatory mapping, including the Lekki-Epe corridor, Idimu–Ikotun–Egbeda axis, BRT Barracks, Yaba–WAEC–Fadeyi corridor, Ojota/New Garage axis, Berger/Grammar School axis, Mile 2, Ikorodu Garage axis, Oshodi Interchange and Lagos Island corridors.
The mapping exercise will examine heat hotspots, transport routes, waiting areas, availability of shade, public spaces and community experiences of heat.
Hotsteppers emphasised a community-centred approach, with residents, commuters, transport workers, cyclists, pedestrians and local organisations expected to contribute their experiences to help identify areas most affected by heat exposure.
Participants were also introduced to tools such as satellite mapping, thermal imaging, Geographic Information System (GIS) technology and temperature sensors that will support research into heat patterns across Lagos.
The project will begin fieldwork and participatory mapping in September 2026, where researchers will work with communities to document how extreme heat affects daily movement and transport experiences.
Media partners will also participate in selected field visits to engage with researchers and communities, document lived experiences and develop evidence-based climate stories.
A first research summary from the project’s Work Package 3 will be released ahead of the Hotsteppers Story Sprint scheduled for October 21, 2026, where journalists will explore emerging findings and new reporting opportunities.
Through the initiative, organisers hope to strengthen climate journalism that places communities at the centre of conversations around heat, health and urban resilience.
