Extreme heat is a dangerous and growing global challenge. Already, heat kills an average of 489,000 people a year, and deaths from heat are expected to grow 50% by 2050 as the climate continues warming. There are huge economic costs, too. Due to health costs, lost productivity and other effects, the average city is projected to lose 1.7% of GDP from heat by 2050, increasing to 5.6% by 2100. Extreme heat also damages agricultural productivity, exacerbates air pollution and increases energy consumption. In cities, buildings and surfaces like sidewalks and pavement absorb and trap heat, creating an “urban heat island” effect, further increasing temperatures compared to rural areas and exacerbating negative health impacts.

Furthermore, urban heat impacts can vary widely from neighborhood to neighborhood and along socioeconomic lines, and tend to take the greatest toll on already-disadvantaged populations. In more affluent communities, tree cover, better city services and more efficient buildings tend to shield residents from the worst impacts. Conversely, in more economically vulnerable communities and informal settlements, lack of urban nature and poor infrastructure, such as overcrowded buildings and metal roofs, can magnify the impacts of heat.

Despite these challenges, there are many things cities and urban residents can do to combat rising heat. From nature-based solutions such as trees and greenery, to strategic shade cover and reflective surfaces, leaders and communities can pull from a wide range of solutions to reduce local temperatures and prevent the worst impacts on human health.

WRI works to equip urban policymakers, planners and communities with data, tools and advice they can use to design efficient, effective heat mitigation and adaptation strategies that are uniquely tailored to each city.

WRI’s Urban Heat and Passive Cooling portfolio includes a broad range of projects to advance data-driven solutions to this mounting challenge. Our strategy focuses on five key elements: 

1. Centering resilience

Rather than simply reacting to extreme heat events, we use in-depth data and analytics to build the case for proactive investments in resilient infrastructure that can help cities prepare for and adapt to future heat events.

2. Offering broad-based data resources

Because heat is an urgent rising challenge in cities across the world, we aim to ensure that our data resources and tools can serve a broad range of stakeholders. We work to develop standardized analytical methods and applications for understanding heat risk that are relevant to multiple stakeholders, from the global to the local scale.

3. Partnering on context-specific analysis and solutions

While standardized methods and applications are useful, different cities have distinct histories, conditions, strategies and objectives related to mitigating heat. Meeting their goals requires understanding specific heat-related infrastructure and how different solutions could apply. We work closely with cities to build their understanding of specific risks and potential approaches to mitigation.

4. Focusing on health and equity

We know that urban heat risks affect already-marginalized residents most. When working with cities, we ensure that our analyses help illuminate the inequitable toll of extreme heat and encourage solutions that center the needs of vulnerable populations.

5. Enabling innovation through open data

We produce open data and analyses that enable creative approaches to heat mitigation by a range of stakeholders, including businesses, local governments, civil society organizations, development finance institutions, material manufacturers and suppliers, building owners and the insurance sector.

 

Cover image by Joshua Fernandez/Unsplash