Urban food delivery services as extreme heat adaptation

Zhang, Yunke, Wang, Daoping, Liu, Yu, Du, Kerui, Lu, Peng, He, Pan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1088-6290 and Li, Yong 2025. Urban food delivery services as extreme heat adaptation. Nature Cities 2 (2) , pp. 170-179. 10.1038/s44284-024-00172-z Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

More frequent global extreme heat events prompt behavioral adaptations, such as reducing outdoor activities to relieve potential distress. The emergence of innovative daily life services in cities offers new avenues for implementing such adaptive strategies. Here we investigate whether urban residents augment food delivery consumption as an immediate response to hot weather in China. Analyzing extensive food delivery service data across 100 Chinese cities from 2017 to 2023, we observe a significant surge in lunchtime orders, exceeding 12.6%, as temperatures escalate from 20 °C to 35 °C, and reaching 21.4% at 40 °C. These increments, coupled with reduced heat exposure via food delivery services, are more pronounced among female, high-income and older individuals, signifying varying degrees of benefit among consumers. We further reveal the transfer of heat exposure from consumers to delivery riders, highlighting the gains and pains introduced by food delivery services and the need for policy intervention. The quantification and findings in this study provide unique insights for the design of efficient policies promoting extreme heat adaptation and ensuring social equity while fighting climate change.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Earth and Environmental Sciences
Additional Information:	Article title change since accepted for publication
Publisher:	Nature Research
ISSN:	2731-9997
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	27 March 2025
Date of Acceptance:	28 October 2024
Last Modified:	28 Mar 2025 17:31
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/177197

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