8 Cities Are Tackling Heatwaves With Innovative Solutions, Including Sydney, Paris, LA & One IND City

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted above-normal maximum temperatures over most parts of the country during the 2024 summer. PM Modi has also directed officials to prepare for the upcoming heatwaves in the country. Let us look at the eight cities around the globe that have tried innovative measures to tackle scorching heat. 

Interestingly, the summer heat has haunted more urban areas than rural ones, from the US to Europe. Situations on the subcontinent are not different, increasing population density, less greenery, and concrete jungles are the top reasons for problems persisting in the cities. 

1. Seville regularly hits 40°C in the summer months. To combat the heat, the Spanish city has planned to plant 5,000 trees a year. It has also switched to construction materials that reflect heat. 

2. In Sydney, in an area covering 1.3 million hectares around Australia’s capital city, the authorities have plans to increase the tree canopy by planting five million more trees by 2030.

3. In the dreams of Hollywood, Los Angeles in the United States started experimenting with painting streets white back in 2019 to tackle the heat. 

4. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), in its peak summer, crossed the 50°C threshold last year. The country known for Burj Khalifa and its unique building design has fitted computer-controlled folding screens that control sun rays to provide shade. 

5. France's capital city, Paris, which is halfway between the north hemisphere and the equator, reached 36°C in 2022. The French authorities have created an app for the location ‘cool island’ developed in the city, which includes parks and water fountains. 

6. Netherlands’ Rotterdam has started planting greenery on rooftops. The Dutch authorities have planned to tackle urban heat by planting 9 lakh sq m of plants. 

7. Columbia’s mountainous capital, Meddlin, has created 30 shady routes on the city's roads to tackle heatwaves. This initiative is to help pedestrians and sightseers walk or gather. 

8. India’s state of Odisha, in its capital city Bhubaneswar, has created ‘cool wards’ to tackle the heat. Ahmedabad has planned for cool roofs, while Madurai has gone for medical camps in football areas. 

Although in the Indian context, Ahmedabad was the first city in South Asia to have a heat action plan, with others following in this direction, India is on the verge of tackling European and American cities in heat action plans.