Hitzeanpassung von Stadtquartieren: Akteursperspektiven und Umsetzungsansätze

Durch die projizierte globale Erwärmung werden sich Hitzeextreme verschärfen. Vor allem in den Städten wird die Lebensqualität der Stadtbevölkerung unter sommerlichen Hitzewellen leiden. Im Projekt HeatResilientCity werden bewohnerorientierte Hitzeanpassungsmaßnahmen an Gebäuden und im städtischen Freiraum entwickelt und geprüft sowie Empfehlungen für die Umsetzung gegeben.The HeatResilientCity project applied insights from natural sciences, engineering and the social sciences to develop heat adaptation measures, test their effectiveness and partially implement them in two structurally different real-world laboratories in Dresden-Gorbitz and Erfurt-Oststadt. The present article discusses interventions to plant street trees and to refurbish two different residential buildings. We describe and analyse aspects of the implementation process to identify key factors that enable or constrain adaptation action among different groups of actors. We find that adaptation measures that are objectively effective and supported by residents are most appropriate for implementation. Where residents evince scepticism about adaptation measures, information about their effectiveness and usefulness should be disseminated. Early and targeted involvement of relevant stakeholders, careful communication and the establishment of climate adaptation as a permanent interdepartmental task at municipal level can promote successful implementation of heat adaptation measures.

Why and How Do Cities Plan for Extreme Heat?

Heat is the deadliest weather-related hazard in the United States. This paper studies municipal heat adaptation using survey and planning data from California. We first analyze the characteristics of municipalities that innovate. Cities with heat-related policies have greater degrees of projected extreme heat, leadership support, environmental justice planning, and smaller Hispanic population shares. We then assess specific policy innovations of six large cities by plan type. Some strategies, including expanding tree canopies, have been widely adopted while others, such as cool walls, are rarely included. Findings suggest that planners can—and should—play a central role in heat adaptation planning.

Heat adaptation measures in private households: an application and adaptation of the protective action decision model

Extreme heatwaves will occur more frequently and with higher intensity in future. Their consequences for human health can be fatal if adaptation measures will not be taken. This study analyses factors related to heat adaptation measures in private households in Germany. During the summer months of 2019, indoor temperatures were measured in over 500 private households in the City of Augsburg, Germany, accompanied by a survey to find out about heat perception and adaptation measures. Hypotheses deducted from the Protective Action Decision Model were tested using one-way ANOVAs, regression analysis and in the end a multiple hierarchical regression model. The results of the hypotheses tested imply an influence of knowledge and heat risk perception of heat adaptation behaviour and an influence of age on heat risk perception. The results of the regression model show an influence of the efficacy-related attribute, of age, indoor temperature, subjective heat stress and health implications to heat adaptation behaviour. In the end, this study proposes adjustments to the PADM according to the results of the hierarchical regression analysis.

Designing Chickpea For a Hotter Drier World

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the most important grain legumes in the world, but its current and future production is threatened due to the increased incidence of drought and heat stress. To address this challenge, an integrated crop improvement strategy encompassing breeding, genomics, physiology and agronomy is required. Here, we review the physiological traits known to confer drought and heat adaptation in chickpea and identify areas of drought and heat adaptation research that should be prioritised in the future. Furthermore, we underscore approaches to efficiently phenotype chickpea adaptation traits and highlight the significant challenges and importance of understanding the nexus between canopy and root development. Finally, we present the opportunity to adopt multi-trait genomic prediction approaches to efficiently utilise key physiological traits, that can be assayed using high-throughput phenotyping platforms, to accelerate genetic gain in drought and heat prone environments.

Climate change adaptation to extreme heat: A global systematic review of implemented action

Extreme heat events impact people and ecosystems across the globe, and they are becoming more frequent and intense in a warming climate. Responses to heat span sectors and geographic boundaries. Prior research has documented technologies or options that can be deployed to manage extreme heat and examples of how individuals, communities, governments, and other stakeholder groups are adapting to heat. However, a comprehensive understanding of the current state of implemented heat adaptations—where, why, how, and to what extent they are occurring—has not been established. Here, we combine data from the Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative with a heat-specific systematic review to analyze the global extent and diversity of documented heat adaptation actions (n = 301 peer-reviewed articles). Data from 98 countries suggest that documented heat adaptations fundamentally differ by geographic region and national income. In high-income, developed countries, heat is overwhelmingly treated as a health issue, particularly in urban areas. However, in low and middle income, developing countries, heat adaptations focus on agricultural and livelihood-based impacts, primarily considering heat as a compound hazard with drought and other hydrological hazards. 63% of the heat-adaptation articles feature individuals or communities autonomously adapting, highlighting how responses to date have largely consisted of coping strategies. The current global status of responses to intensifying extreme heat, largely autonomous and incremental yet widespread, establishes a foundation for informed decision making as heat impacts around the world continue to increase.