Dr Richard Watkins, member of CASE Research Centre, was recently interviewed live on Euronews to discuss the European heatwave, and to understand what is being done to control the temperatures in cities, and prospective future proposals.
Dr Watkins explains that the main approaches to cooling cities are to reflect away the sun’s energy, to absorb it and use it to evaporate water and to provide shading to improve outdoor and indoor comfort. Richard pointed out that the high temperatures, approaching 40°C, globally are not unusual and where it is this hot architecture has evolved to protect people. In the temperate and northern temperate regions we are not used to these very high temperatures and this presents a challenge. Watch the full interview below, courtesy of Euronews.