The topic of urban heat islands (UHIs) is still not at the forefront of local and national strategies to tackle climate change, despite the increasing number of days per year with prolonged heat waves. Last year was the hottest year on record since meteorological measurements have started (according to data from the EU’s Copernicus (C3S).
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 build capacity of local and regional authorities to use analytical tools and improve their readiness to deal with climate change challenges. The project partners have created an online platform that helps city authorities to assess their risk for UHIs against 4 components (urban environment, exposure of materials and infrastructure, vulnerable social groups, local administration preparedness and capacity for UHI prevention and counteraction).
On March 17, 2025, Sofia Development Association, together with the BeReady partners, organized an international webinar with over 100 participants from 13 countries, in which 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 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 surveys 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 in 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 UHIs are hampered by existing practices in public procurement to select a contractor at the lowest cost, which prevents the use of innovation and technologically efficient solutions. The sharing of good practices and continuous exchange between research institutes, the business, citizen science and local authorities should be a leading approach in the creation of long-term strategies and action plans in this area.
BISI, one of the project partners, presented during the webinar the specialized online platform for risk assessment of heat islands. The platform is aimed at cities and urban planners. The platform functionalities will facilitate the process of administrative preparation of cities to deal with the consequences of urban heat islands, to provide them with training resources and good practices from other cities and countries.
Starting in July 2025, the Bulgarian partners SDA and BISI will be implementing a local pilot to tackle UHI, using white and green acupuncture measures. Follow BISI’s website and join our social media for project updates.
