Capturing urban heat struggles through the lens
A Glasgow Caledonian Master’s student has secured a photo exhibition space at the German Green Party offices in Dresden, which explores the visual communication of climate change in European cities.
The exhibition by Mayuresh Bhadsavle, who is currently on a mobility placement at Dresden University of Applied Sciences, is titled The Warming City - Visual Narratives of Urban Heat Stresses in Germany.
With an increasing number of hot days, this July has been declared the warmest in a millennium by the World Meteorological Organization. The Warming City depicts how German urban residents confront and cope with heat stress, especially in cities.
Mayuresh is studying a Master's in Urban Climate and Sustainability as part of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s programme, which, as well as institutions in Germany and Scotland, is also partnered with universities in Finland and Spain, and offers 20 study spots globally.
He said: “While our cities are sweltering with different forms of climate-change-induced extreme heat, visual communication has great potential to become a highly effective tool for creating awareness about the impact of the climate crisis in everyday life and the vulnerabilities associated with it. Inspired by the crucial insights gained in my programme, this photo exhibition creates more ways of seeing and recognising urban climate change and persuading people to join the local climate action.”
Mayuresh’s supervisor at Glasgow Caledonian, Professor Rohinton Emmanuel, said: “Urban heating is increasingly recognised as a growing climate change-related hazard across the world. The lived experience of urban dwellers in managing and adapting to this growing hazard is equally important to tackle this growing problem through mitigatory actions such as planting trees. Mayuresh’s work is an example of sustainable management of urban climate and exemplar knowledge exchange activity arising from our joint Master’s programme.”
The exhibition runs until August 31.