Over 100 participants from 13 countries discussed solutions to counteract urban heat islands

The topic of urban heat islands (UHI) is still not at the top of local and national strategies to tackle climate change, despite the increasing number of days a year with prolonged heat waves. The past year 2024 was declared the hottest year since temperature measurements were made (according to  the EU's Copernicus (C3S) Climate Change Service).

The international project BeReady (Strategy for sustainability, preparation and mitigation of urban heat islands), which focuses on assessing the UHI risks and vulnerability of cities in the Danube region, aims to create the capacity of local and regional authorities to use analytical tools to improve their preparedness to deal with the challenges of this phenomenon. The project partners have created an online platform that helps city authorities to assess their risk for UHI against 4 components (urban environment, materials and infrastructure, vulnerable social groups, preparedness of the local administration for UHI prevention and mitigation).

On March 17, 2025, Sofia Development Association, together with partners KVA, Hungary, and ATG, Romania, organized an international webinar with over 100 participants from 13 countries, where they presented the platform and shared key conclusions related to reducing the harmful effects of heat islands. The main challenges facing cities continue to be the lack of systematized data on the urban climate (the available data are not always free, which makes them inaccessible to municipalities with small budgets); the exposure of buildings and infrastructure to high temperatures, as well as the sporadic survey of social groups that are most at risk of heat waves (young children, the elderly, people with chronic diseases, the poor). Insufficient funding for work on the topic has been allocated to the current European programmes and structural funds, and planning for the next period has not yet begun. Cities' efforts to plan targeted actions to counter TRP are hampered by existing practices in public procurement to select a contractor at the lowest cost, which does not allow support for innovation and technologically efficient solutions. The sharing of good practices and continuous exchange between research institutes, business, citizen science and local authorities should be a leading approach in the creation of long-term strategic documents and action plans in this area.

The webinar discussion engaged representatives of EUSDR, DRP, European Committee of the Regions, local and national authorities, NGOs, universities and business organizations.

From the beginning of July this year, pilot projects will be launched in ten Danube region cities to reduce the effects of UHI, applying the blue, green and white urban acupuncture approach.