Google’s New AI Tool Helps Cities Combat Extreme Heat

Google is launching a Heat Resilience tool, powered by AI, to help cities to understand how to deal with the results of global warming. The innovative tool will advise how to reduce surface temperatures through planting trees or using highly-reflective surfaces, like reflective roofs.

How Climate Change Is Affecting Life In Cities

Human activity is changing the climate on our planet. The rise in greenhouse gases (like carbon dioxide and methane) is causing global warming, with average temperatures increasing steadily. Scientists warn that 2024 may become the hottest year, and it appears that more extremely hot years are likely to follow.

Cities, which are home to over half of the world’s population, are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to their dense populations and concentrated infrastructure.

Climate changes provoke extreme weather events like storms, heavy rainfall, and floods. Also, it creates new challenges for public health: the spread of diseases which thrive in warmer conditions and an increasing number of heat-related diseases. Poor air quality leads to respiratory problems and cardiovascular diseases.

What Can An AI Do To Help With Global Warming?

The Heat Resilience tool is applying AI to satellite and aerial images to identify how much shade from trees exists in each neighbourhood, as well as the presence of reflective (so-called “cool”) roofs. 

The data from the new tool will help decision-makers to identify the hottest, most vulnerable communities within urban areas. As a result, city officials will have the crucial information needed to prioritise where to implement cooling strategies, while also being able to visualise the potential outcomes of these actions.

The Heat Resilience tool is currently being piloted in 14 US cities. However, the Google developers hope to partner with more cities in the future.

Google is trying to keep up with time and use innovative technologies to help cities to deal with the results of global warming, aiming to create safer, healthier and more sustainable communities.