00:00Every summer in Qatar, temperatures hover above 40 degrees Celsius
00:05with high humidity in the air.
00:08Yet, life continues.
00:10People go to work and school, out to eat,
00:13and for many, exercise is a year-round pursuit.
00:17That's because Qatar has engineered a way to beat the heat,
00:22investing in technologies and urban planning,
00:24from district cooling to comfortable outdoor spaces.
00:27As the world gets hotter, we explore how this desert landscape
00:31maintains daily life and movement, coexisting with nature.
00:36I'm Laila Humaira, and this is Qatar In Motion.
00:43Did you know that before technological innovations,
00:47Gulf communities relied on ancient wisdom to survive the heat?
00:51Old Qatari houses were built with what's called barjil, or wind towers.
00:57It's a passive cooling system that's designed to catch even the smallest breeze
01:01and funnel it indoors, improving ventilation.
01:06But with rapid economic expansion, Qatar must balance urban heat
01:12and its growth ambitions.
01:16Welcome to Jewan Island, Qatar's newest recreational, retail,
01:21and residential district.
01:22Despite the summer heat, you'll find that walking around is pleasant and breezy.
01:27That's because of the air conditioning vents all around.
01:30Look up and you will see tree-like canopies
01:33that offer shade from direct sunlight
01:35and also contain the cool air,
01:38creating an urban forest.
01:41The 400,000 square metre island
01:43is United Development Company's most recent real estate project.
01:48Jewan creates a new essence of experience,
01:53leisure, walkability, and obviously convenience.
01:57So Jewan is a way that we kind of try as a developer
02:03to balance what we'd consider as exclusivity
02:06and accessibility,
02:09innovation with heritage,
02:13and luxury with responsibility.
02:16What stands out of Jewan, of everybody,
02:19it's basically an all-seasonality development
02:22that one could potentially come and visit
02:25any time in the year.
02:27At the heart of UDC's new district
02:29is Crystal Walk,
02:31a distinctive retail destination
02:33that has earned a Guinness World Record
02:35as the world's largest outdoor,
02:38air-conditioned shopping boulevard.
02:40Stretching more than 7,300 square metres,
02:43temperatures are kept as low as 21 to 23 degrees Celsius,
02:48even during the height of summer,
02:50all made possible by district cooling.
02:53It was very important that we have district cooling
02:57as part of our DNA.
03:01And the reason being is that energy efficiency
03:05becomes paramount in basically the subject
03:11or the matter as it relates to sustainability.
03:14What we did is that we designed developments
03:18in the climate we had.
03:19The orientation of the building,
03:21the shades, mobility, green spaces,
03:25landscaping, walkability,
03:27all those were absolutely necessary
03:30and cohesive to actually address
03:33the climate issue that we live in.
03:34But behind the world record
03:36is a bigger ambition
03:38to create places where technology can impress
03:41but also make urban life cooler,
03:44cleaner and more sustainable.
03:47G1 itself, as far as the Crystal Walk,
03:50is a Star 3 GSAS certified.
03:55What a GSAS certification do
03:58is that you have to look at specific designs
04:00at their very conception
04:03all the way through the implementation and operation.
04:07So that's how sustainability
04:09is actually important for us.
04:12It's important that it's actually ingrained
04:15in within our designs
04:16and within how we operate our facilities.
04:21Juwan Island's cooling system
04:23is one of five in Qatar
04:24and it's powered by a company aptly called Qatar Cool.
04:28Although we've come to depend on district cooling,
04:31the technology remains largely invisible
04:33to the general public.
04:35So how does it work?
04:37The main loop is between the plant
04:40and the end user.
04:42Chill water is generated
04:43in the district cooling plant
04:45and it is circulated
04:47through the piping distribution network
04:50up to the heat exchanger within the building.
04:53The loop two which is within the plant
04:55is between the chillers
04:57and the cooling towers
04:58wherein that is an open loop
05:00where the heat is dumped
05:02to the atmosphere
05:03by the way of evaporation.
05:05The third loop is within
05:06the customer's building itself
05:08wherein they pick up the cooling
05:10from the heat exchanger
05:12and distribute it throughout the building.
05:15These giant chillers
05:16in the company's Juwan Island plant
05:18are capable of providing
05:2018,000 tonnes of refrigeration
05:22enough to remove the equivalent
05:24of more than 63 megawatts of heat
05:27at full capacity.
05:29The district cooling systems
05:30reduces the energy usage by 40%
05:34as compared to the conventional cooling.
05:36In Juwan Island plant
05:37we use thermal energy storage tanks
05:40in our design
05:41wherein we can generate cooling
05:43during the off-peak hours
05:45at less energy penalty
05:47and use the stored cooling
05:50during the daytime
05:50during the peak hours.
05:52Beyond saving energy
05:54conserving water usage
05:56and reducing emissions
05:57district cooling
05:58will continue to play a big role
06:00in Qatar's sustainable development
06:02in the long run.
06:04Cooling is becoming a necessity
06:07even in the colder regions.
06:09In terms of climate mitigation
06:10we have capability to do changes
06:13implement new technologies
06:14in our plants
06:16whereas you will not be able
06:17to expect hundreds of buildings
06:19to upgrade their systems
06:20depending on the situations
06:22they are tackling.
06:24To meet the growing demands
06:25of district cooling
06:26Tata Cool opened
06:27its command control centre
06:28in 2024.
06:30This so-called mothership
06:32delivers real-time insight
06:33into plant efficiency
06:35building operations
06:36and consumer consumption patterns
06:39while also monitoring
06:40and optimising
06:41the work that is being done
06:43underground
06:43from a single
06:44centralised location.
06:46The company is also
06:48supporting initiatives
06:49aimed at nurturing
06:50the next generation
06:52of climate innovators
06:53and water scientists
06:54by teaming up
06:55with the Qatar Science
06:57and Technology Park.
06:58The QSTP Total Energy's
07:01Water Tech Accelerator
07:02is an accelerator
07:04for start-ups
07:06and scale-ups
07:07that have at least
07:08a minimum viable product
07:10or beyond
07:11a solution
07:12for the water challenges
07:14in the region.
07:15This initiative
07:16was started
07:17due to the demands
07:19and the challenges
07:20the industrial
07:22and municipal sectors
07:23are facing
07:23and they need
07:25help to identify
07:26and bridge the gap
07:28from innovation
07:29towards business standards.
07:31This is the perfect
07:32testbed
07:32for all the innovative
07:34technologies
07:35to prove
07:36that their solutions work
07:38and whatever can work
07:39here in Qatar
07:40can actually work
07:41in other countries.
07:42Through boosting
07:43public-private partnerships
07:45and investing
07:45in green energy
07:46Qatar is ensuring
07:48that the innovation loop
07:49continues to produce
07:51real-life solutions
07:52that enhance
07:53the quality of life
07:54for its residents.
07:58While district cooling
07:59helps to tackle the heat,
08:01it still begs the question,
08:03how do people take part
08:04in outdoor activities?
08:05Well, the short answer is
08:07they bring the workout
08:08indoors.
08:09All over the Gulf,
08:11running clubs
08:11and wellness communities
08:12are utilizing
08:13large indoor
08:15air-conditioned spaces
08:16to kick-start
08:17a new trend.
08:18Here in Qatar,
08:19mall running
08:21is catching on
08:21so fast,
08:22the challenge
08:23is to keep up.
08:26Running inside the mall,
08:28when we did it
08:28the first time,
08:29it was a need.
08:30The mall,
08:31it's a place
08:31where it is
08:32air-conditioned
08:33and well-prepared,
08:35cleaned,
08:36secure.
08:36A lot of people
08:37are looking for the executes.
08:39And this is our job,
08:40it is to remove
08:41the executes for them.
08:43So part of running
08:44inside the mall,
08:45it is to remove
08:46the executes for people
08:47that we cannot run
08:49because the weather
08:49is not good.
08:50We are always there
08:52to give you
08:53a lifestyle
08:54of training
08:55on a daily basis.
08:57And our programs
08:57is built with,
08:59let's say,
08:59in the Mall of Qatar,
09:00in the MOQ Fit Club,
09:02you will have
09:02the functional training,
09:04the mobility sessions,
09:05the running,
09:06the strength sessions.
09:07You can build
09:08a full program with us
09:09even in summer.
09:11It's for free,
09:12so everyone is welcome.
09:14I hope they keep it up
09:16and it is making you feel
09:20that you can enjoy
09:21your first day
09:22early in the morning
09:23doing healthy activities.
09:25The benefit of this
09:27indoor social activity
09:29is not only for myself,
09:30like physical fitness,
09:32but also it's my chance
09:33to meet people
09:34from different ages.
09:37I invited the communities
09:38to run here.
09:39I want to support the people
09:40and people to support me
09:42in the same time.
09:43This is the strength
09:43of a community
09:44that it's always
09:45everyone pushing everyone.
09:47Not everyone is an athlete.
09:49Helping them
09:49in the first step,
09:50it's the social responsibility
09:51since it will bring them
09:53to the next
09:53and then they are
09:54locked in the movement cycle
09:56which is the most important.
09:58I believe in movement.
10:00Movement should be consistent
10:01and even whatever
10:02the intensity of the movement,
10:04it should be still there.
10:06There is a movement.
10:06Summer should not be a pause
10:08for your training journey.
10:09It should be the time
10:11where you change
10:12the way of training.
10:13So we redesigned
10:15our training
10:17in order to adapt
10:18with the weather.
10:21Well, the truth is
10:22whether we like it or not,
10:24rapid urban growth,
10:25climate change
10:26and extreme heat
10:27will continue to pose
10:29serious challenges
10:30to the environment
10:31and the people living in it.
10:33So how can countries
10:34like Qatar come up
10:35with policies
10:36to mitigate soaring temperatures
10:37and maintain liveability
10:39for its residents
10:40and citizens?
10:42The research we focus on here
10:44is trying to look at
10:45sustainable ways
10:46of mitigating heat.
10:48So we're looking beyond
10:49active cooling
10:50and mechanical cooling
10:51into sustainable,
10:53passive solutions.
10:55When we say green
10:56and blue solutions,
10:58that actually refers
10:59to greening,
11:00urban greening,
11:00use of trees
11:02and vegetation
11:03as a way
11:04of mitigating heat.
11:05And when we say
11:06blue infrastructure,
11:07that refers to
11:08water features,
11:09water ponds
11:10and fountains
11:11and misting technologies.
11:13Smart,
11:14when we say
11:15the word smart in this
11:16is really how we
11:17use data,
11:19how we control,
11:20how we have active
11:20control of information.
11:22What we do here
11:23and the understanding
11:24we provide
11:25and the research
11:26we conduct
11:27almost serves
11:28as a window
11:28into the future
11:29for many other countries
11:31in the world
11:31where climate change
11:32is going to shift them
11:33into more warming,
11:35weather and climate
11:36and more frequent
11:37heat waves
11:38and more intense heat waves.
11:41From district cooling
11:42to mall runs
11:43and breathable corridors,
11:45Qatar has made
11:46living in an arid climate
11:48not just possible
11:49but also sustainable
11:51and smart.
11:52That's all the time
11:53we have for now.
11:53Thanks for watching
11:54Qatar In Motion
11:55and see you next time.
11:56and see you next time.
11:56Thank you.
11:57Thank you.
11:59Thank you.
11:59Thank you.
