Research undertaken by Prof Scott Krayenhoff, School of Environmental Sciences, was featured in an article on Scientific American.

The article, reprinted from E&E News, looked at a new study that found the urban “heat island effect” may cause extra warming in many cities on top of the warming already caused by climate change.

Krayenhoff, an atmospheric scientist who studies urban climates who was not involved in the research, commented that he wasn’t convinced that the urban “heat island effect” was as big a concern as urban heat waves, since heat waves in cities can cause significant, immediate deaths.

Krayenhoff recently completed research that found that properly designed infrastructure and urban landscaping can make pedestrian spaces within cities feel 10 degrees Celsius cooler or more.

The study’s results may help city planners with determining where to locate trees when building new streetscapes, for example.