Absolute temperatures are expected to rise more slowly in the tropics than in higher latitudes and polar regions, but the combination of heat and rising humidity will make life more challenging.
The world's fastest-growing cities are in the tropics. They are highly exposed to climate change, especially as urban heat island effects and humidity magnify the impacts of increasing heatwaves.
The Morris Inn on the University of Notre Dame campus has had a green roof since 2013.
Ashish Sharma
Taking this step may improve the quality of life for vulnerable people and reduce the amount of air conditioning they use, making their neighborhoods less prone to power outages.
Our cities are getting hotter. Luckily, as a built environment, we can actually do something about it.
Upper Coomera is one of those fast-growing fringe suburbs that are hotter because of tightly packed housing with less greenery.
Daryl Jones/www.ozaerial.com.au/
Recently published research has found that the concentration of poorer people in hotter places is a real problem for cities' capacity to cope with climate change.
Some materials and surfaces radiate much more heat (red areas) than others, as can be seen in this thermal image of Arncliffe Street in Wolli Creek, Sydney.
Hot spots occur at the scale of where people live – the building, the street, the block – which means urban design and building materials have profound implications for our health and well-being.
The cover that trees provide transforms cities into much more hospitable places, especially in hot weather.
AAP/Joe Castro
Six years after Black Saturday, it's worth remembering that heatwaves kill more people than bushfires do, so shade can be a life-saver. But tree cover and shade are not evenly distributed in cities.
When it gets hot in the city, where’s the best place to go?
Alpha/Flickr
Heatwaves — Australia’s biggest natural killers — are getting more frequent and hotter thanks to climate change. One day cities such as Melbourne may see unprecedented heat, perhaps 48C or higher. But…
Trees cool cities down, naturally.
emmett anderson
Air conditioners across the country are running on full this week as Australia battles a heatwave – but are we missing an obvious, leafy solution? Trees, which provide shade and act as natural air conditioners…
Research says Melbourne could benefit from less black.
mugley/Flickr
Can a whiter roof make your home cooler? What about your whole city? The existing literature and theory suggests that increasing the albedo - or reflectiveness - of a building will reflect incoming sun…