1927
2Cooling hot cities
We're all familiar with the idea of climate change and how our planet is warming. Extremes in temperature have become more commonplace, making parts of the world difficult to live in. But one place where excessive heat is making life very uncomfortable is our cities. Luckily, innovation might be keeping a lid on it.
As thermometers record temperatures, sometimes above 50 degrees Celsius, solutions are being sought to cool the air in our cities. 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.
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. Yatin Pandya told the BBC: "Traditional architectural forms have proven their performance in combatting environmental conditions."
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.
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. 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.
But it's satellites in space that are really giving us the best picture of our over-heated cities. 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."
It's already found how green spaces, white roads and water features, have helped prevent our cities from boiling over. But with excessive heat still posing a threat to our lives, more solutions are still needed.
词汇表
commonplace [ˈkɒmənpleɪs] adj. 常见的，普遍的，平凡的
excessive heat 极端高温，酷热
innovation [ˌɪnəˈveɪʃn] n. 创新，革新，新方法
keep a lid on [lɪd] 控制，遏制，防止恶化
heatwave [ˈhiːtweɪv] n. 热浪，酷热期
urbanisation [ˌɜːbənaɪˈzeɪʃn] n. 城市化，都市化
air-conditioning units 空调设备，空调机组
lattice [ˈlætɪs] n. 格子，格状结构，格栅
low-carbon [ˌləʊ ˈkɑːbən] adj. 低碳的
urban heat island effect 城市热岛效应
trapped waste heat 积聚的废热，散发不出去的废热
concrete structures [ˈkɒŋkriːt] 混凝土建筑/结构
pavement [ˈpeɪvmənt] n. 路面，人行道
heatproof [ˈhiːtpruːf] vt. 使隔热，使耐热
shade [ʃeɪd] n. 阴凉处，树荫
vegetation [ˌvedʒɪˈteɪʃn] n. 植被，植物
light-coloured [ˌlaɪt ˈkʌləd] adj. 浅色的，淡色的
satellite [ˈsætəlaɪt] n. 卫星
over-heated [ˌəʊvəˈhiːtɪd] adj. 过热的，温度过高的
hotspot [ˈhɒtspɒt] n. 热点，高温区域
vulnerable regions [ˈvʌlnərəbl] 脆弱地区，易受影响的区域
mitigation [ˌmɪtɪˈɡeɪʃn] n. 缓解，减轻
green spaces 绿色空间，绿地
water features 水体景观，水景
boil over [bɔɪl] 沸腾溢出，失控，过热
pose a threat to 对…构成威胁
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