Evolution of the heat stress index of the city of Madrid using the URBCLIM climate model of the European Space Agency
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20868/ade.2025.5387Keywords:
Heat stress index, UrbClam model, local climate zones, heat mitigation, urban climateAbstract
Global warming is generating significant increases in environmental temperature that is affecting people's quality of life. Today, 30% of the world's population resides in places that have extreme heat weather conditions, and this is expected to increase to 74% in the next two decades. In this research, the evolution of the heat stress index (Hi) between 2008, 2012 and 2017 in the different Local Climate Zones (LZs) of the city of Madrid has been analysed using the UrbClim climate model of the European Space Agency. Using Landsat 5 and 8 satellite images and for each ZCL, the following variables have been considered: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and the Normalized Difference Building Index.. Our results report that there has been a significant increase in heat stress values between the years, being higher in the ZCL-2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9 and lower in the ZCL-for rural use (ZCL-A, B, C, D, E, F and G). Therefore, it is necessary to increase green areas and spaces and the use of facades and green roofs in urban areas in order to increase the heat resistance of urban areas.
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