Heat relief solutions from the UK.

Researchers from University College London (UCL) and the University of Exeter have discovered that painting rooftops white in London, England, could save hundreds of lives during a record-breaking hot summer.

London with its brightly colored rooftops.

Researchers have found that installing cool, light-colored roofing on all of London's rooftops could cool the city by about 0.8 ^° C. They say this could have prevented 32% of the 786 heat-related deaths that occurred in London during June, July, and August 2018.

Dr. Charles Simpson from UCL's Department of Environment, Energy and Resources said: “When widely implemented, cool roofs can significantly reduce the ground-level air temperature of a city. The city-wide cooling effect would save lives and improve the quality of life for residents across urban areas.”

The study's authors say that covering all of London's rooftops with solar panels could help reduce heat-related deaths while also generating energy. This could cool the city by about 0.3 ^° C, and the panels would also generate 20 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity, more than half of London's energy consumption for the entire year of 2018. Dr. Simpson added: “Solar panels have the enormous benefit of being a renewable energy source, so it’s good to see they don’t make the city hotter.”

Norway has also adopted a new solution: installing solar panels vertically instead of the usual slanted arrangement. Vertical solar panels can generate up to 20% more energy, making them valuable in regions with harsh, dark winters where maximizing energy output is crucial. Furthermore, traditional slanted panels tend to overheat when sunlight is too strong. “Lower operating temperatures correspond to increased efficiency,” explains Bas van Aken, a scientist at the Netherlands Institute for Technology TNO.

Finding ways to cool cities is becoming increasingly important as the world warms, with more than half the world's population living in urban areas. Hot summers like the one in 2018, while rare at the time, are becoming more common due to climate change. The summer of 2024 is expected to be the hottest on record, following the record-breaking summer of 2023.

England is particularly vulnerable because an estimated 83% of its population lives in urban areas. Urban environments absorb a great deal of heat and are often several degrees warmer than surrounding areas. This effect, known as the "urban heat island," causes buildings, roads, and other infrastructure to absorb and radiate more heat from the sun than the natural landscape, making cities hotter.

White roofs are a common sight in hotter countries in Southern Europe and North Africa. Light-colored roofs absorb less radiant energy from the sun than traditional dark-colored roofs. This can help keep cities cooler and the temperature inside buildings lower.

Professor Tim Taylor, co-author of the study from the University of Exeter, said: “The need for cities to adapt to climate change is clear. Changing the space of our rooftops offers a viable solution that could reduce heat waves for people living in urban areas and capture potential benefits, including energy generation.”

LAM DIEN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/giai-phap-chong-nong-tu-anh-post763085.html