export_ofoct.com
[00:00.41] We're all familiar with the idea of climate change and how our planet is warming.
[00:05.45] Extremes in temperature have become more commonplace, making parts of the world difficult to live in.
[00:12.09] But one place where excessive heat is making life very uncomfortable is our cities.
[00:17.67] Luckily, innovation might be keeping a lid on it.
[00:21.92] As thermometers record temperatures, sometimes above 50 degrees Celsius, solutions are being sought to cool the air in our cities.
[00:31.48] In India, for example, heatwaves and rapid urbanisation have led to a big rise in the use of air-conditioning units, adding to CO2 emissions.
[00:42.37] So, architects, looking for a sustainable cooling solution, are reviving an ancient 'lattice' design, used in old buildings like the Taj Mahal, to construct comfortable, low-carbon buildings.
[00:55.92] Yatin Pandya told the BBC: "Traditional architectural forms have proven their performance in combatting environmental conditions."
[01:05.75] In America, about 80% of the population lives in cities, and it's these cities that suffer from an urban heat island effect, caused by factors such as trapped waste heat, concrete structures and pavements absorbing the sun and tall buildings blocking the wind.
[01:23.81] Residents and developers have tried to heatproof these places by planting large trees that offer shade and putting plants and gardens on top of roofs that use vegetation to help trap heat.
[01:36.56] And in Los Angeles, there's an experiment to cover streets with light-coloured material that reflects rather than absorbs the sun and so they remain cooler than typical black roads.
[01:48.25] But it's satellites in space that are really giving us the best picture of our over-heated cities.
[01:53.82] Glynn Hulley, who is leading an image-capturing project, called the Land Surface Temperature Monitoring mission, told the BBC: "The data can be used to identify hotspots, vulnerable regions, and assess the cooling impacts of heat mitigation approaches."
[02:10.29] It's already found how green spaces, white roads and water features, have helped prevent our cities from boiling over.
[02:18.79] But with excessive heat still posing a threat to our lives, more solutions are still needed.
