Heat trapped by dark-colored roads and buildings will cause cities’ costs for tackling global warming to be 2.6 times higher by driving up energy demand to keep citizens cool and by aggravating pollution.
The “urban heat island effect”, under which cities are often several degrees warmer than nearby rural areas, adds to air and water pollution and can make sweltering workers less productive, according to the study published in the Nature Climate Change journal.
The study did not try to identify cities most at risk but lead author Francisco Estrada of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, told Reuters they were likely to be “close to the tropics and with the large populations”.
Some past studies have said cities in colder climates, could have net benefits from warming because of lower winter heating bills. But Estrada said such effects were likely to be short-lived as temperatures climb.
The report cited that cities could limit much of the damage themselves with measures such as lighter-colored roof tops or more trees.
Read more here.
Source: Reuters News, 29 May 2017