These 7 cities are tackling heatwaves with innovative solutions
- In heatwaves, urban spaces often reach the highest temperatures.
- But cities including Sydney, Paris and Los Angeles are developing ways to keep their citizens cooler.
- Solutions include more awnings, creating rooftop gardens and painting road surfaces with reflective white paint.
Heatwaves are making cities some of the hottest places to be.
City infrastructure – like roads and buildings – absorbs heat and then releases it back into the city, meaning .
From Europe to China, India and Pakistan, the United States and Africa, this has been bad news for cities as .
Almost in the extreme weather over the summer of 2022, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.
But cities are learning to tackle extreme heat – sometimes with ingenious solutions.
Here are seven examples.
Seville’s ‘policy of shade’
In a city that regularly hits 40C in the summer months, it’s perhaps no surprise that Seville was the world’s first city to categorize heatwaves in the same way that the US and Asian countries name hurricanes, reports Bloomberg.
To tackle the increasing heat, more awnings have been installed across the Spanish city. “” the city’s mayor, Antonio Muñoz, told Bloomberg. “It’s just one of the many things we need to do if we want to be able to use the streets – from children playing to people who want to do their shopping or just sit outside and talk.”
Seville also plants 5,000 trees a year, is switching to construction materials that reflect heat and is installing more public fountains, reports Bloomberg.
Sydney’s tree plan
In Greater Sydney, an , there are plans to increase the tree canopy by planting .
Trees help to . They also naturally absorb and store carbon dioxide, which helps to combat climate change.
LA’s white paint experiment against heatwaves
In Los Angeles in the United States, city authorities started experimenting with back in 2019.
The aim is to bounce the sun’s rays back into space, cooling the surrounding area.
Ten streets in ten neighbourhoods have been , according to the website Reasons to be Cheerful. On hot days, the white paint cools the road’s surface and the surrounding area, the city’s sustainability officer says.
Abu Dhabi’s self-shading tower block
In Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, climate change is predicted to push average temperatures well above 50C in the second part of the century, bringing that could make the city unliveable.
But innovative design can help buildings deflect heat. One example is the . The 26-storey building is fitted with computer-controlled folding screens that , explains consulting engineers, Arup.
Paris creates ‘cool islands’ to tackle heatwaves
Heatwaves across France last summer – with the capital, Paris, in August 2022 – while an April 2023 study found that Paris had the highest of 854 European cities.
Paris is responding to the heating effect of the climate crisis by creating . These are listed on an app and include parks, water fountains and public buildings like swimming pools and museums.
The spaces can be between 2C and 4C cooler than surrounding streets.
Rotterdam’s green rooftops
Planting greenery on rooftops can help cities keep cool, and Rotterdam in the Netherlands recently demonstrated this with the .
The city hopes to . By storing water, rooftops planted with vegetation can also help reduce flooding.
Green roofs by up to 15C, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Medellin creates green corridors for citizens
In Colombia, the country’s second biggest city, Medellin, has created a network of 30 shady routes across the city known as ‘green corridors’ to fight heatwaves.
According to Reuters, thousands of native trees, palms, bamboo and tropical plants have been planted around sidewalks, parks and busy traffic routes, providing .