US communities are battling severe heat with tree planting and whitened roadways.
The first significant city to enact legislation mandating cool roofs on all newly constructed residences was Los Angeles in 2013. Since then, the city has launched a number of other keep-cool programs, such as painting pavements white and extending its Green Standards Building Code to include cool roofs on non-residential buildings and retrofits. By 2050, it is predicted that the number of days in the city will surge to 35°C (95°F).
However, the populace continues to experience problems related to excessive heat despite the mitigation measures. According to a study, the number of days in Los Angeles between 2018 and 2022 that reached 32°C (90°F) or above was directly connected with the number of emergency calls related to extreme heat.
According to Steffen Lehmann, director of the Urban Futures Lab at the University of Nevada, “the opportunities for heat mitigation in the US are huge.” “The information is available, but the necessary actions are not being taken. It is really annoying.”
Western US states had dangerously high temperatures in June due to a continuing heat dome. There have been instances of 46.1 °C (115 °F) temperatures recorded by residents in Arizona, Nevada, California, and Utah. There will be “little to no overnight relief from the heat,” and temperature records will be “tied or broken,” the National Weather Service (NWS) predicted.
