How we’re using AI to help cities tackle extreme heat

Sep 04, 2024

[[read-time]] min read

David Fork

Research Scientist, Google Research

Mansi Kansal

Product Manager, Google Research

It’s predicted that 2024 could outrank 2023 arsenic nan hottest twelvemonth connected record. These rising temperatures person a disproportionate effect connected group who unrecorded successful municipality power islands — areas wherever structures for illustration roads and buildings sorb power and re-emit it. Heat islands cause cities to power up astatine doubly nan world mean rate. This is particularly detrimental to susceptible communities including older people, children and those pinch chronic wellness conditions. For example, heat-related mortality for group 65 and older increased astir 85% betwixt 2017 and 2021.

To little metropolis temperatures and support communities healthy, Google Research is continuing its efforts to usage AI to build devices that thief reside utmost heat. Our caller Heat Resilience instrumentality applies AI to outer and aerial imagery, helping cities to quantify really to trim aboveground temperatures pinch cooling interventions, for illustration planting trees and installing highly reflective surfaces for illustration cool roofs.

A caller AI instrumentality to thief cities make informed decisions

Quantifiable information is important for cities to place their hottest, astir susceptible communities and prioritize wherever to instrumentality cooling strategies. This caller instrumentality uses AI-powered entity discovery and different models to relationship for section characteristics, for illustration really overmuch greenish abstraction a metropolis has aliases really good nan roofs connected buildings bespeak sunlight. This helps municipality planners and section governments spot nan effect of cooling interventions correct down to nan vicinity level. We’re piloting nan instrumentality successful 14 U.S. cities, wherever officials are utilizing it to place which neighborhoods are astir susceptible to utmost power and create a scheme to reside rising temperatures.

We’ve seen really AI-informed insights tin supply metropolis officials and municipality planners pinch nan accusation they request to make impactful changes. Using nan Heat Resilience tool, Miami-Dade region plans to create policies that incentivize developers to return power mitigation measures. In Stockton, California, nan metropolis has utilized an earlier type of Google’s Heat Resilience tool to stitchery information for imaginable projects and opportunities to trim municipality power islands.

We dream to partner pinch much cities successful nan early to pass their cooling strategies and yet create safer, healthier and much sustainable communities.