Episode Details

We're all familiar with the idea of climate change and how our planet is warming. Extremes in temperature have become more commonplace, making parts of the world difficult to live in. But one place where excessive heat is making life very uncomfortable is our cities. Luckily, innovation might be keeping a lid on it. 

我们都熟悉气候变化的概念以及地球如何变暖。 极端温度已经变得越来越普遍，使得世界上的一些地方变得难以居住。但是，过度炎热使生活变得非常不舒服的一个地方就是我们的城市。 幸运的是，创新可能会限制这种情况。 

As thermometers record temperatures, sometimes above 50 degrees Celsius, solutions are being sought to cool the air in our cities. In India, for example, heatwaves and rapid urbanisation have led to a big rise in the use of air-conditioning units, adding to CO2 emissions. So, architects, looking for a sustainable cooling solution, are reviving an ancient 'lattice' design, used in old buildings like the Taj Mahal, to construct comfortable, low-carbon buildings. Yatin Pandya told the BBC: "Traditional architectural forms have proven their performance in combatting environmental conditions." 

随着温度计记录的温度有时超过 50 摄氏度，人们正在寻求解决方案来冷却我们城市的空气。 例如，在印度，热浪和快速城市化导致空调使用量大幅增加，增加了二氧化碳排放量。 因此，寻求可持续冷却解决方案的建筑师正在复兴泰姬陵等老建筑中使用的古老“格子”设计，以建造舒适的低碳建筑。 亚廷·潘迪亚 (Yatin Pandya) 告诉英国广播公司：“传统的建筑形式已经证明了其在应对环境条件方面的性能。” 

In America, about 80% of the population lives in cities, and it's these cities that suffer from an urban heat island effect, caused by factors such as trapped waste heat, concrete structures and pavements absorbing the sun and tall buildings blocking the wind. Residents and developers have tried to heatproof these places by planting large trees that offer shade and putting plants and gardens on top of roofs that use vegetation to help trap heat. And in Los Angeles, there's an experiment to cover streets with light-coloured material that reflects rather than absorbs the sun and so they remain cooler than typical black roads. 

在美国，大约80%的人口居住在城市，正是这些城市遭受了城市热岛效应，其原因包括废热滞留、混凝土结构和路面吸收阳光、高层建筑挡风等因素。 居民和开发商试图通过种植大树来遮荫，并在屋顶上种植植物和花园，利用植被来帮助吸收热量，从而为这些地方隔热。 在洛杉矶，正在进行一项实验，用浅色材料覆盖街道，这种材料可以反射而不是吸收阳光，因此它们比典型的黑色道路保持凉爽。 

But it's satellites in space that are really giving us the best picture of our over-heated cities. Glynn Hulley, who is leading an image-capturing project, called the Land Surface Temperature Monitoring mission, told the BBC: "The data can be used to identify hotspots, vulnerable regions, and assess the cooling impacts of heat mitigation approaches." It's already found how green spaces, white roads and water features, have helped prevent our cities from boiling over. But with excessive heat still posing a threat to our lives, more solutions are still needed. 

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