Urban Heat Island

Sustaining our cities

Why do cities amplify heatwaves?

City grids intensify the urban heat island effect 

Urban heat - not a myth, and worst where it's wet

Hot cities: the 'smart' response to urban heat threats

High-tech mirror to beam heat away from buildings into space

Cooling cities: strategies and technologies to mitigate urban heat

Research reveals effectiveness of urban heat-reducing technologies

More households could strain natural resouces and the environment

Megacities: emissions, urban, regional and global atmospheric pollution

Dense downtown living more carbon intense due to higher consumption

Quality and sensitivity of high-resolution numerical simulation of urban heat islands 

A scenario analysis of the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of a new residential area

New modeling reveals complex dynamics of climate change, heat-mitigating technologies

Anisotropic diffuse shortwave radiation on mean radiant temperature in outdoor urban environments

Urban design to reduce building energy use: Using CFD to inform better placement of buildings

Urban & rural surface energy budgets: heat waves explain synergies of urban heat islands & heat waves

Impact of air conditioning on heat island effect: 

In a warming world, could air conditioning make things worse

Air conditioning unnecessary in the majority of heatwave conditions globally

Assessing summertime urban air conditioning consumption in a semiarid environment

Use of air conditioners increases night time temperatures, escalates demand for air conditioning   

Vegetation in the city:

Expertise - green resources

Weighing the benefits of urban greening

Do urban 'heat islands' hint at trees of the future?

Urban warming slows tree growth, photosynthesis

Vegetation essential for limiting city warming effects

As world goes urban, new focus on role of trees in cities

Mitigating urban heat islands with trees is more effecctive in dry climates

Just add trees: How greening concrete jungles will help us adapt to a warming world

Global climate-driven trade-offs between the water retention and cooling benefits of urban greening

Rooftops moderate heat island effect:

Can white roofs help cool world's warming cities?

White roofs may partially offset summer warming by 2100

Researchers develop a rooftop device that can make solar power and cool buildings

Regional climate consequences of large-scale cool roof and photovoltaic array deployment

Role of green roofs in reducing heat stress in vuknerable urban communities - multidisciplinary approach

Top-of-atmosphere radiative cooling with white-roofs: experimental verification and model-based evaluation

Roadways, traffic & pavements impact on heat isalnd effect:

How roads can help cool sizzling cities

A technology in road markers could cool cities by up to 20C

"Green routing" can cut car emissions without significantly slowing travel time

Pavements designed to fight climate change could increase energy consumption in surrounding buildings

The use of reflective pavements as a potential practice for heat island mitigation & stormwater management

Regional:

Urban heat islands are warming the Arctic

Europe:

Tomorrow's office, today - UK's first energy-positive office opens in Swansea

Surface urban heat islands in 57 cities across different climates in Fennoscandia

North America:

Canadian cities adapt to extreme heat

A data-driven approach to cooling a city

LA tests cooling pavement paint to beat heat

US seasonal hydroclimatic impacts of Sun Corridor expansion

US cities ranked on basis of heat island effect on temperatures

 Mid-Atlantic suburbs in the US can expect an early spring thanks to the heat of the big city

Green and cool roofs to mitigate urban heat island effects in Chicago: regional climate model evaluation

Asia:

Japan's strategy for reducing heat-island effects

Cool roofs in China offer enhanced benefits during heat waves

Urbanization and heterogeneous surface warming in Eastern China

Study reveals surprising role of haze in the warming of Chinese cities

The impact of urban heat islands: assessing vulnerability in Indonesia

Australia:

After another hot summer, here are 6 ways to cool our cities in future

Urban trees and people's yards mitigate extreme heat in Western Adelaide 

Australia: out in the heat - why poorer suburbs are more at risk in warming cities