Living in Singapore means sweltering temperatures all year round. To escape the heat, we flock to air-conditioned shopping malls, restaurants and cinemas, emerging after the sun dips below the horizon.

Historians have wondered how people in colonial times managed before modern technology. Were the heat-related challenges the same as the ones now? Some heat is specific to the present: That emanating from cars stalled in traffic jams, or the daily temperature build-up in concretised streets and buildings. These factors have significantly changed the experience of city living.