Clothing Urban Heat Islands with a Vegetative Cover to Combat Climate Change

Urbanisation has led to the creation of layers of concrete and asphalt. These structures or ‘heat islands’ absorb enormous amounts of radiation on the surface causing average global temperatures to rise. Changes in characteristics of the Earth's surface like the thermal capacity, heat capacity and albedo are increasing with depleting vegetation. In a developing country like India, where the urban growth is in its early phase, it is possible to strategise for a climate-sensitive infrastructure. In this work, therefore, we have investigated the influence of vegetation on the change in interior temperatures. It was observed that an average temperature reduction of 7.88±0.02°C as compared with structures exposed to direct sunlight can be achieved at <95% relative humidity. The study highlights an efficient cost-effective measure to minimise global warming by covering urban rooftops with grass layers.