Harnessing Uheat: Can a Digital Tool Combat Urban Heat Island Effect?

“Urban heat is not just a discomfort; it’s a serious issue affecting our health and social fabric,” says Tony Chan, an Associate Principal and Planning Business Leader in Arup, overseeing the multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy’s Southeast Asia urban planning projects.

In densely populated cities like Singapore where Tony is based, UHI effect poses a significant challenge. This phenomenon, where urban areas experience higher temperatures than their rural surroundings, exacerbates the impacts of climate change. UHI can also have profound social and health implications.

In dense, built-up areas like Singapore and Hong Kong, UHI increases the risk of heat-related illnesses, reducing productivity for outdoor workers, and leading to higher mortality rates among vulnerable populations such as the elderly and young children.

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Recognising the urgent need to address UHI, Arup developed UHeat, a web-based application that leverages satellite imagery and open-source climate data to visualise and analyse urban heat. It is built on data science and the latest academic microclimate modelling developed by Arup’s university partners, University College London and the University of Reading. Tony explains, “UHeat combines machine learning with remote sensing to provide a quick glance at potential problem areas. This tool allows planners to identify hotspots and develop targeted strategies to mitigate heat build-up.”

One of the key benefits of UHeat is its ability to model multiple urban factors, including building and tree heights, surface albedos and population density, and then rapidly model solutions to show how the strategic deployment of Nature and other interventions can help cities reduce the impact of hot spots.

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Ian Tan tells stories about the urban environment we live in. He uses his understanding of cultural heritage, placemaking and conservation to do so. Through interactions with other built environment professionals, he is also inspired by emerging technologies, innovative building solutions and new design strategies that can create a more liveable and inclusive environment for all. He has a PhD in Architecture and currently works at Arup, a global sustainable development consultancy.

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