The cool technologies that could protect cities from dangerous heat

3 min read Original article ↗
  • NEWS FEATURE

From supercool materials that send heat into space to shape-shifting materials that can selectively fend it off, scientists are finding new strategies to reduce urban temperatures.

By

  1. Shannon Hall

    1. Shannon Hall is a freelance science journalist in Colorado.

The exterior of a building shows the vast amount of air conditioning units with woman holding an umbrella to protect herself from the heat on the foreground.

Hundreds of air conditioning units adorn an apartment building in Nanjing, China. Credit: Feng Botao/Visual China Group/Getty

It’s time to brace for record-breaking heat. Last year was the hottest on record and 2024 is shaping up to be even more extreme, with the mercury soaring close to 50 °C on days in Nevada, Egypt and Australia. June marked the 13th month in a row of chart-topping temperatures globally. And four consecutive days in July were the hottest in recorded history for the entire planet.

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Nature 632, 971-973 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02760-4

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