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MELBOURNE, Dec. 30 (360info) Evidence shows cities can reduce heat impact and protect residents
Faced with a record-setting heat wave in 2022, cities across Southeast Asia are turning to cool rooftops, green spaces and other innovative solutions.
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As the year winds down, 2022 is expected to be the fourth warmest year on record, despite natural climate drivers such as La Niña dragging down global temperatures.
In Europe alone, where more than 15,000 people have died from the heat this year, cities are now grappling with the disturbing fact that hotter and longer heat waves are now a fact of life.
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“Extreme heat has claimed more lives in Australia than any other natural disaster,” said Lauren Rickards of RMIT University and Nigel Tapper of Monash University. “Because of high urbanization, most deaths occur in cities.”
Cities aren’t entirely climate-affected, though. Evidence suggests that various urban planning interventions not only reduce the effects of extreme heat but also benefit cities in other ways.
fan switch air conditioner
Air conditioning, the weapon of choice in the developed world, is becoming increasingly sophisticated. “In the face of urban warming, air conditioning is almost still the standard response in developed countries, regardless of the weather,” said Shi Wanyu, a researcher at Mingchuan University.
According to a report by the International Energy Agency, air conditioners and fans today account for “nearly 20% of the total electricity used in buildings globally”. But that number will explode in the coming decades as more and more people in India, China and Indonesia are able to afford air conditioners.
One way to control energy use is to focus on improving the efficiency of your air conditioner. But in countries where cooling is most needed, fans can replace air conditioners on up to 19 out of 20 hot days.
Replace your roof to protect your home
Families in developed nations may choose between fans and air conditioners during a heat wave, but for many, they’re not even an option.
Hot metal roofs have exacerbated the slum heatwave, with residents escaping by spending more time outdoors. They also bathe and shower frequently, putting more pressure on drinking water supplies.
Authorities in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are piloting a plan to replace these hot roofs in slums with cooler alternatives, reducing indoor temperatures by 2-5 degrees Celsius.
Cooling cities with plants
Cities are looking to another solution beyond the home: plants. While high-rise “sky gardens” capture the public’s attention, ground-level parks and gardens also play a huge role in cooling the city.
Protecting cities requires more than just planting a few trees, though. Green spaces cannot protect us from extreme heat unless they are capable of heating themselves, and careful siting is required to have the right effect.
Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez and Sally Power of Western Sydney University said: “Trees left to protect future hotter cities will Depends on the planning actions we do today.”
Take Advantage of Other Greenfields
Climate change is a notoriously intractable problem, plagued by a string of failures, but solutions can also help us in unexpected ways.
In the Indonesian city of Surabaya, focusing on plants reduced crime and supported local crafts, while Danish researchers found that exposure to green spaces can improve children’s mental health in later life.
But Kristine Engemann, a researcher at Aarhus University, warns that green spaces need to be within walking distance for people to use and benefit from them. “Sometimes we’re not good at doing things that are actually good for us.”
The co-benefits of green spaces are not limited to social benefits: they can also help protect us from other aspects of climate change.
China’s sponge cities are built from porous materials that can cope with both flood risk and urban heat.
Describing one of these sponge cities, He Baojie of Chongqing University said: “Zhuhai has built more than 115 square kilometers of sponge city infrastructure since 2016…The development of green and blue infrastructure has not hindered the city’s continued development.”
Options like this are attractive to cities looking to protect their residents and take control of climate change adaptation. But they only work for so long, report Elspeth Oppermann of Ludwig-Maximilians University and Jamie Cross of the University of Edinburgh.
?? “Shade trees, proper use of fans or improved home ventilation are only effective if outdoor conditions are still survivable. By 2050, this may not be the case in many areas.”
For many cities, the race to keep cities cool will come as the world strives to keep global temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius. (360info.org)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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