Exposure, which is the prevalence of high temperatures across the city, was calculated by looking at images from the Landsat 8 satellite from 2015 to 2019. In 2019, the Department asked ECOTEN Urban Comfort, a company based in Prague and specialised in urban and environmental engineering, to map heat islands in Vienna to help them identify where action was the most needed.Īfter assessing the needs of the Department, the company defined the relevant indices to assess the city’s vulnerability to heat waves. To prevent health risks to the residents of Vienna, the Energy Planning Department was hence looking for ways to identify urban “hot spots” and take measures to mitigate the consequences of increasing temperatures in the city. Forecasts predict that between 20, there will be an average of 19 heat days in Vienna, while the population is expected to increase from 1.8 million to 2 million by 2029. In 2003, the city experienced 44 heat wave days, which were responsible for 180 deaths. In the past years, the urban heat island effect in Vienna has been exacerbated by a growing population and an increase in urban development, which led to the loss of permeable open green spaces and to higher temperatures. This phenomenon, known as “urban heat island effect” can cause health risks and higher energy consumption in cities. Urban areas are generally warmer than their surrounding areas. The Department of Energy Planning of the City of Vienna is responsible for implementing sustainable policies in the energy sector, allocating funds and testing innovative solutions to produce energy out of renewables, increase the use of waste heat and promote energy-efficient and climate-friendly mobility.Īmong other tasks, the Department issues a periodical Energy Report aimed at raising residents’ awareness on the status of energy and climate-related issues in Vienna. Indeed, the City’s administration believes in the value of innovation to cope with climate change and reach excellence in the delivery of public services. In 2019, The Economist ranked the City of Vienna, in Austria, as the city with the highest quality of life worldwide. The Department of Energy Planning of the City of Vienna The Department of Energy Planning of the City of Vienna acquired information on urban heat islands, useful to implement mitigating measures, on the basis of information derived from Earth observation. Vienna: Adapting urban planning to climate change with the support of satellite imagery
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