Cologne city center: white flags for shadows and cooling!

Cologne city center: white flags for shadows and cooling!

In the Cologne city center, white flags have been blowing over the Hohe Strasse, which are not only an eye -catcher, but also have practical use. With their shadow throwing in summer heat, these flags are said to offer a welcome cooling. The project called "Klimalabor Cologne Downtown" is largely supported by the University of Cologne and the Aachen's basic assets. In addition, a scientific accompaniment by students of geography and meteorology courses takes care of the evaluation of this campaign, which is carried out for the first time as continuous, high-resolution measurements in a pedestrian zone of a large German city.

The campaign was initiated by the Cologne city marketing and has the advantage that temperature developments in areas with and without flags are systematically recorded. For this purpose, special measurement stations were installed, the data of which could be the basis of future measures in other shopping streets. The city of Cologne and the funds of the federal government are financed. This shows how important it is to find creative solutions for the increasing temperatures and the challenge of climate change. As reports ksta.de, the initiative is accompanied by intensive scientific analyzes to confirm your efficiency.

thermal loads in the city

The question of urban heat load is not new. Studies by the German Weather Service show that the number of hot days in Cologne could increase drastically by the middle of the century. According to the city climate model MUKLIMO_3, an increase in hot days can be expected by up to 150 percent if the years 1971 to 2000 are compared with the forecasts for 2021 to 2050. This means that the temperatures can rise over 40 degrees Celsius on summer days. The need for effective cooling measures is growing steadily, which makes projects such as the climate laboratory particularly relevant. An analysis shows that the dominant warming is reinforced by city structures.

But how does this intense urbanization and the resulting high temperatures come about? The urban heating effect (UHI) contributes significantly to the temperature differences between urban and rural areas. Wherever dense urban structures accumulate, the temperatures see an increase of 3 ° C to 12 ° C, depending on the geographical location. This not only has an impact on the well-being of citizens, but also on the general climate conditions, such as stadt-koeln.de.

global warming in the focus

In addition to the local effects, researchers worldwide notice that urban areas only make up 4 % of the global land space, but most weather stations are positioned there. This influences the image of climate change because the temperatures in cities are increasingly displayed due to urbanization factors. A current study suggests that urban heat islands could explain up to 40 % of the temperature rise since 1850. Critics warn of this distortion that influences our perception of climate change and the necessary measures.

We encourage our readers for further details: inside, the comprehensive reports on [eike-klima-energie.eu] (https://eike-klimaenergie.eu/2024/01/staedtischer-waerminsel- und-globale-erwaerung/) and the latest analyzes on urban climate dilations stadt-koeln.de. The future of downtown Cologne depends on the decisions we make today.