Demonstration article

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Cities are often noticeably warmer than surrounding countryside, especially at night. Dark roofs and roads absorb sunlight, buildings block cooling breezes, and vehicles and air conditioners release waste heat. The effect, known as the urban heat island, makes hot spells more dangerous for those who live there.

Practical measures

Planners have a growing toolkit. Street trees provide shade and cool the air through evaporation. Reflective or planted roofs reduce the heat buildings absorb. Water features and permeable surfaces help, as do building designs that encourage natural ventilation.

Common heat adaptation measures

Expanding tree canopy along streets and in parks

Cool or green roofs on public and private buildings

Public cooling centres during heatwaves

Early-warning systems and outreach to vulnerable residents

Who benefits matters. Neighbourhoods with fewer trees and more paved surfaces tend to be hotter, and they are often home to people with fewer resources to cope. Many cities now map heat exposure to direct investment where it is most needed.

Heat is a quiet hazard. Its victims are often alone, indoors, and unnoticed until too late.

Adaptation does not replace cutting emissions, but it determines how well people live with the warming already under way.