The scorching Thai summer has the writer adopting ways to make the heat a tad gentler – and makes her notice how different communities, from security thinkers to scientists, singers to meditation teachers, share many similar insights about how to restore some balance in planetary life.

Julieta Coro, a mother of 11 children who lives with her family close to the sea in Siargao island, recalls how they took shelter from super typhoon Odette’s destruction in December 2021.

One year after super typhoon Odette pummelled scenic Siargao island in December 2021, locals in the Philippines’ surfing capital –  the site of international surfing competitions – are bent on making their hometown stronger, better and an even more popular tourist haven. Still, there is nervousness about the changing behaviour of storms amid climate change.

The vice mayor of the Siargao town, Romina Rusillon Sajulga, recalls how the community put a diarrhoea outbreak under control in the days after super typhoon Odette hit one year ago.

School’s back. But Siargao’s education sector is recovering not only from COVID-19 but from the devastation of Odette – at a time when the reality of having more powerful storms in the climate emergency continues. “We don’t have typhoon drills,” says a local teacher.

Filipinos are the most worried about climate change, given the high risk for disasters that their country faces. But a regional survey shows that they are not necessarily aware of the country’s climate policies, such as its lack of a net-zero target.

Singapore’s first climate rally created waves in 2019, but the wider social impact of its push for a greener path has been mixed. This is the first of four articles in ‘Greening the Garden City’, a story set around how the country is navigating the sustainability challenge.

Southeast Asian countries’ targets and wish lists toward carbon neutrality are like individual recipes, using different ingredients in various ways, to produce the same dish (hopefully).

The ‘S Files’ looks at varied facets of our ongoing conversation around sustainability.