🥵 AI Helps Cities Cope with Heat Waves
Over half a million people die yearly from extreme heat worldwide, and the summer of 2024 became the warmest on record. People living in big cities, where the so-called urban heat islands form, suffer the most. These zones tend to heat more than others and then release additional heat, causing temperatures to rise even further.
Google Research Labs has introduced a set of AI tools to help cities address extremely high temperatures and better protect residents from heat waves.
⚛️ Heat Resilience
The model can identify the neighborhoods most vulnerable to extreme temperatures by analyzing the cities' satellite and aerial imagery and other data, such as average summer temperatures in the area and the local communities' standard of living. The service is currently piloted in 14 U.S. cities.
🌴 Tree Canopy
This tool identifies areas lacking vegetation and provides early alerts about heat islands. Tree Canopy is used in 2,000 cities worldwide.
🏠 Сool Roofs
The AI learns the terrain and identifies areas where "cool roofs" are most needed. Such roofs better reflect sunlight, preventing buildings from heating up too much. The service also helps reduce energy consumption during heat waves by 27%. Cool Roofs is preparing to launch in 11 cities, including New York, Nashville, and Melbourne.
👍 Why it's helpful
The algorithms can detect the most heat-prone areas and calculate the change in average surface temperatures after cooling interventions. Such data will help urban planners design city spaces with climate change in mind.
More on the topic:
How AI is Helping to Put Out Fires
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