What is a heat island?
Contrary to a popular belief, pollution plays virtually no role in creating urban heat islands. They're due to dense concentrations of buildings and impermeable surfaces.
Climate change, land take and urban density contribute to rising air and ground temperatures in city centres – especially at night, when road surfaces release the heat they have absorbed throughout the day. A number of factors combine to create a heat island – the materials used to create buildings (bricks, stone, concrete, etc.) and road surfaces (e.g. asphalt mixes), land use (i.e. building density), most often without plant cover, as well as human activities such as road traffic and the use of heating and air conditioning.
More nature in the city
Trees, shrubs and plants help cool the city by providing shade and 'evapotranspiration', which refreshes the atmosphere. Local temperatures can drop significantly by:
reducing the waterproofing of pavements
planting trees
placing mobile forests
greening the ground, facades and roofs
Improving access to water in the city
In its Climate Plan and Municipal Water Plan, the City has committed to improving access to drinking water for residents and users of the City. Several water access points have been set up for this purpose:
Drinking water fountains
Water bottle network: a network of shops that fill water bottles free of charge in Brussels
Adapt buildings and urban landscaping
Adapt materials to the amount of sunshine in the area
Prefer light-coloured cladding or white roofs that reflect rather than absorb the sun's rays
Allow wind to circulate by considering the urban form of construction or renovation projects
Insulate buildings to prevent overheating
Create shade with shade sails
Cool spaces during heat waves
Map and make available private or public indoor spaces to provide cool places nearby for shelter during heatwaves: Map with urban cooling islands
Provide support to vulnerable populations
This difference can reach 10°C in summer between two Brussels municipalities (measurements in July 2022 between different parts of the City
Surface temperatures at a busy car park in Western Sydney are being reduced by as much as 35 degrees by vine-covered trellises which were in
