These cities are better at enduring extreme heat. Here's how they're doing it
The climate crisis is making extreme heat more frequent and last longer — but cities, without thoughtful design, can make life even hotter. Here's how eight cities are dealing.
Beating the heat
Blistering heat has returned to western Europe, as some countries like France enter into their third wave of the summer with temperatures expected to reach over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius), while more than 80% of the U.S. population will experience temperatures over 90 degrees (32C) within the next week, including in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Around 100 million Americans have been under heat alerts for eight of the past 16 days.
This means hundreds of millions of people living in urban areas are again desperately trying to stay cool.
Air conditioners might keep the indoors cool, but they only add to heat outdoors. And in most cases, they are adding to the climate crisis by increasing planet-warming emissions. Public transportation may be unbearable on a hot day, but driving a car that runs on gas instead just worsens traffic, also adding to heat and emissions. A lack of trees means a lack of shade, and buildings made of dark materials bring hotter interiors, which means more air conditioning.
It's a vicious cycle, but there are other solutions.
Here's how eight cities are taking some of the heat out of their summers.
Medellín, Colombia: Grow trees on the streets, not just in parks
When it gets really hot, people with air conditioning might stay indoors, but not everyone has that luxury and — well, who wants to say in all the time?
For cities that aren't on the coast, parks that offer shade are a good option. Colombia's second-largest city, Medellín, however, has created an entire metropolis of shade with its award-winning Green Corridors project.
The web-like network has transformed 18 roads and 12 waterways into lush green cycling lanes and walkways that connect the city's parks and other frequently visited sites.
Temperatures have come down in these areas and their surrounds by as much as 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit (around 3 degrees Celsius), and officials hope that before 2030, it could shave off up to 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 Celsius).
"Urban forests are the very best thing for city heat," Kathy Baughman McLeod, director of the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center (Arsht-Rock) at the Atlantic Council, told CNN. "Medellín has dropped the city's average summer temperature, which is remarkable."
By 2019, the city had planted more than 8,000 trees and over 350,000 shrubs. It also uses an area beneath a raised Metro line to collect rainwater that flows down from the bridge, capturing it in a system of pipes to help water the green belts.
Vienna: Splish, splash, splosh
Like in much of Europe, many in Vienna don't have air conditioning, so water is a big part of how the Austrian capital keeps cool.
For those who don't have time for a dip in the Danube, the city offers cooling parks with mist-spraying "trees" that people can either "shower" in, or just sit near to enjoy the cooler temperatures they bring their surrounds.
Children, who are generally more vulnerable to extreme heat than adults, are often seen playing in the city's splash pools or running around in pop-up water features — typically hosepipes with holes punched in them — that the city government brings out on the hottest of days, including in areas like Karlsplatz, a popular city square.
Vienna also has a huge number of water fountains for drinking to keep people hydrated — more than 1,100 for its population of 1.9 million — which is important in preventing heat-related illness.
"Air conditioning in homes may sound like a quick and easy solution. But it's not a long-term sustainable solution because of the source of the power and the waste heat that comes off the unit," McLeod said. "So thinking about how to get more airflow, use water features and get windows to open in some of the oldest buildings is key. The nature-based solutions are the best for extreme heat."
Paris: Get really organized
The French capital gets seriously hot.
Temperatures there have surpassed 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 Celsius) this summer, but the combination of high-rise buildings, limestone monuments and busy asphalt roads means it can feel even hotter.
The city has a strong urban heat island effect, where it is often 18 degrees hotter in the city center on a summer's day than it is in the Parisian hinterlands.
But Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has been credited with putting in place some of the world's most innovative measures to combat heat, and the city's heat plan is truly comprehensive.
The main result is a city full of "cool islands." Parisians can use an app called EXTREMA to guide them to more than 800 cool spots — parks, water fountains and air-conditioned museums, for example — and get there via a naturally cooled walkway. The idea is that a cool island is always a maximum seven minutes' walk away for everyone.
Like Vienna, Paris uses mist machines on hot days. It also has dozens of new "splash fountains," in addition to its many traditional fountains, which are very shallow pools with fountain-like effects.
Paris' heat plan involves a register that identifies the most vulnerable, so officials can check up on them by phone and offer advice on staying cool. Kindergartens get temporary air conditioners in their classrooms, and public parks and pools stay open for longer hours into the night. And like LA, Paris is trying to take the heat out of its roads and sidewalks by "demineralizing them," using more porous materials. Now that sounds like a plan.
Beating the heat
Blistering heat has returned to western Europe, as some countries like France enter into their third wave of the summer with temperatures expected to reach over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius), while more than 80% of the U.S. population will experience temperatures over 90 degrees (32C) within the next week, including in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Around 100 million Americans have been under heat alerts for eight of the past 16 days.
This means hundreds of millions of people living in urban areas are again desperately trying to stay cool.
Air conditioners might keep the indoors cool, but they only add to heat outdoors. And in most cases, they are adding to the climate crisis by increasing planet-warming emissions. Public transportation may be unbearable on a hot day, but driving a car that runs on gas instead just worsens traffic, also adding to heat and emissions. A lack of trees means a lack of shade, and buildings made of dark materials bring hotter interiors, which means more air conditioning.
It's a vicious cycle, but there are other solutions.
Here's how eight cities are taking some of the heat out of their summers.
Medellín, Colombia: Grow trees on the streets, not just in parks
When it gets really hot, people with air conditioning might stay indoors, but not everyone has that luxury and — well, who wants to say in all the time?
For cities that aren't on the coast, parks that offer shade are a good option. Colombia's second-largest city, Medellín, however, has created an entire metropolis of shade with its award-winning Green Corridors project.
The web-like network has transformed 18 roads and 12 waterways into lush green cycling lanes and walkways that connect the city's parks and other frequently visited sites.
Temperatures have come down in these areas and their surrounds by as much as 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit (around 3 degrees Celsius), and officials hope that before 2030, it could shave off up to 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 Celsius).
"Urban forests are the very best thing for city heat," Kathy Baughman McLeod, director of the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center (Arsht-Rock) at the Atlantic Council, told CNN. "Medellín has dropped the city's average summer temperature, which is remarkable."
By 2019, the city had planted more than 8,000 trees and over 350,000 shrubs. It also uses an area beneath a raised Metro line to collect rainwater that flows down from the bridge, capturing it in a system of pipes to help water the green belts.
Vienna: Splish, splash, splosh
Like in much of Europe, many in Vienna don't have air conditioning, so water is a big part of how the Austrian capital keeps cool.
For those who don't have time for a dip in the Danube, the city offers cooling parks with mist-spraying "trees" that people can either "shower" in, or just sit near to enjoy the cooler temperatures they bring their surrounds.
Children, who are generally more vulnerable to extreme heat than adults, are often seen playing in the city's splash pools or running around in pop-up water features — typically hosepipes with holes punched in them — that the city government brings out on the hottest of days, including in areas like Karlsplatz, a popular city square.
Vienna also has a huge number of water fountains for drinking to keep people hydrated — more than 1,100 for its population of 1.9 million — which is important in preventing heat-related illness.
"Air conditioning in homes may sound like a quick and easy solution. But it's not a long-term sustainable solution because of the source of the power and the waste heat that comes off the unit," McLeod said. "So thinking about how to get more airflow, use water features and get windows to open in some of the oldest buildings is key. The nature-based solutions are the best for extreme heat."
Paris: Get really organized
The French capital gets seriously hot.
Temperatures there have surpassed 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 Celsius) this summer, but the combination of high-rise buildings, limestone monuments and busy asphalt roads means it can feel even hotter.
The city has a strong urban heat island effect, where it is often 18 degrees hotter in the city center on a summer's day than it is in the Parisian hinterlands.
But Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has been credited with putting in place some of the world's most innovative measures to combat heat, and the city's heat plan is truly comprehensive.
The main result is a city full of "cool islands." Parisians can use an app called EXTREMA to guide them to more than 800 cool spots — parks, water fountains and air-conditioned museums, for example — and get there via a naturally cooled walkway. The idea is that a cool island is always a maximum seven minutes' walk away for everyone.
Like Vienna, Paris uses mist machines on hot days. It also has dozens of new "splash fountains," in addition to its many traditional fountains, which are very shallow pools with fountain-like effects.
Paris' heat plan involves a register that identifies the most vulnerable, so officials can check up on them by phone and offer advice on staying cool. Kindergartens get temporary air conditioners in their classrooms, and public parks and pools stay open for longer hours into the night. And like LA, Paris is trying to take the heat out of its roads and sidewalks by "demineralizing them," using more porous materials. Now that sounds like a plan.
Beating the heat
Blistering heat has returned to western Europe, as some countries like France enter into their third wave of the summer with temperatures expected to reach over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius), while more than 80% of the U.S. population will experience temperatures over 90 degrees (32C) within the next week, including in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Around 100 million Americans have been under heat alerts for eight of the past 16 days.
This means hundreds of millions of people living in urban areas are again desperately trying to stay cool.
Air conditioners might keep the indoors cool, but they only add to heat outdoors. And in most cases, they are adding to the climate crisis by increasing planet-warming emissions. Public transportation may be unbearable on a hot day, but driving a car that runs on gas instead just worsens traffic, also adding to heat and emissions. A lack of trees means a lack of shade, and buildings made of dark materials bring hotter interiors, which means more air conditioning.
It's a vicious cycle, but there are other solutions.
Here's how eight cities are taking some of the heat out of their summers.
Medellín, Colombia: Grow trees on the streets, not just in parks
When it gets really hot, people with air conditioning might stay indoors, but not everyone has that luxury and — well, who wants to say in all the time?
For cities that aren't on the coast, parks that offer shade are a good option. Colombia's second-largest city, Medellín, however, has created an entire metropolis of shade with its award-winning Green Corridors project.
The web-like network has transformed 18 roads and 12 waterways into lush green cycling lanes and walkways that connect the city's parks and other frequently visited sites.
Temperatures have come down in these areas and their surrounds by as much as 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit (around 3 degrees Celsius), and officials hope that before 2030, it could shave off up to 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 Celsius).
"Urban forests are the very best thing for city heat," Kathy Baughman McLeod, director of the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center (Arsht-Rock) at the Atlantic Council, told CNN. "Medellín has dropped the city's average summer temperature, which is remarkable."
By 2019, the city had planted more than 8,000 trees and over 350,000 shrubs. It also uses an area beneath a raised Metro line to collect rainwater that flows down from the bridge, capturing it in a system of pipes to help water the green belts.
Vienna: Splish, splash, splosh
Like in much of Europe, many in Vienna don't have air conditioning, so water is a big part of how the Austrian capital keeps cool.
For those who don't have time for a dip in the Danube, the city offers cooling parks with mist-spraying "trees" that people can either "shower" in, or just sit near to enjoy the cooler temperatures they bring their surrounds.
Children, who are generally more vulnerable to extreme heat than adults, are often seen playing in the city's splash pools or running around in pop-up water features — typically hosepipes with holes punched in them — that the city government brings out on the hottest of days, including in areas like Karlsplatz, a popular city square.
Vienna also has a huge number of water fountains for drinking to keep people hydrated — more than 1,100 for its population of 1.9 million — which is important in preventing heat-related illness.
"Air conditioning in homes may sound like a quick and easy solution. But it's not a long-term sustainable solution because of the source of the power and the waste heat that comes off the unit," McLeod said. "So thinking about how to get more airflow, use water features and get windows to open in some of the oldest buildings is key. The nature-based solutions are the best for extreme heat."
The new discovery echoes a mission in 1931, when a five-day zeppelin flight sent robots to the stratosphere and redrew the maps of the high Arctic.
Natural gas has been marketed for decades as a clean fuel, but a growing body of research shows that gas stoves can contribute significantly to indoor air pollution, as well as climate change.
The new discovery echoes a mission in 1931, when a five-day zeppelin flight sent robots to the stratosphere and redrew the maps of the high Arctic.
The pace of the temperature increase around the North Pole in recent decades was four times higher than the rest of the planet, researchers found.
Nationwide, the number of counties expected to reach a heat index of 125 degrees at least once a year will jump more than 20-fold from 50 in 2023 to 1,023 in 2053, according to the study.
“Extremely dangerous” heat that’s almost unheard of today will occur more often in several regions, a study says.
The head of Switzerland's glacier-monitoring program says there's "zero chance" the glaciers will return for decades given current global temperature projections.
Dust plays a major role in Earth’s climate.
It’s not just mosquitos. Flooding, extreme heat and other climate-related hazards are bringing people into contact with pathogens more often.
Fog is a cloud in contact with the ground.
The risk of death on extra-hot and polluted days is about three times greater than the effect of either high heat or high air pollution alone.
Natural gas has been marketed for decades as a clean fuel, but a growing body of research shows that gas stoves can contribute significantly to indoor air pollution, as well as climate change.
