Extreme heat events caused by climate change are becoming more frequent, bringing with them real threats to people's health. As a result, we are seeing these kinds of weather events imposing limits on urban residents' outdoor activities. Food delivery services serve more than 500 million people in China and provide a way for people to 'order in' their food to avoid exposure to the elements. These services could play an important role in helping vulnerable groups avoid heat exposure during extreme weather events.
Daping Wang, Lecturer in Risk, Environment and Society
06 January 2025
Women and older people in cities most likely to use food delivery services in heatwaves
People living in cities are avoiding exposure to heatwaves by ordering food from delivery services
People who live in cities are avoiding exposure to extremely hot weather by ordering food from delivery services, a new study shows.
The research, originally published in Nature Cities, found that there was a substantial increase in food delivery orders during hot days with a maximum temperature exceeding 35 °C. This increase was most pronounced during the hottest lunch peak hours.
However, there was a significant difference in the response to heat across demographic groups with females, high-income, and older residents most likely to order in food.
The behaviour is part of an emerging strategy that urban populations are adopting to adapt to extreme heat.
The study highlights the opportunities for food delivery services to help alleviate exposure to high temperatures caused by climate change. In particular for vulnerable groups such as the elderly, those with a low-income, and people with limited mobility.
The team identified an increase in reliance on food delivery services during hot days, by analysing extensive food delivery records from 100 Chinese cities between 2017 to 2023.
However, the benefits of the reduced heat exposure are not equally distributed across different populations.
The findings instead reveal that increased exposure to hot weather is being transferred to delivery workers from consumers. This highlights a growing need to establish methods of providing delivery workers with heat allowances or subsidies, essential health insurance and training programs to recognise and mitigate heat-related risk.
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Lecturer in Risk, Environment and Society