What you need to know
- Google unveiled new tools it’s bringing to search and cities to combat rising temperatures.
- Within the next month, Google Search will provide users with warnings about excessive heat, along with information about when heatwaves begin and end.
- Google is also looking to introduce more “cool roofs” to cities to help bring down temperatures in hotter-prone areas.
Spring has just started here in the northern hemisphere, and Google is implementing new ways to help people and cities adapt to rising temperatures.
The company plans to bring extreme heat alerts to Search in the coming months, according to a Google Keyword post. Google says it is working with GHHIN (Global Heat Health Information Network) to help users get accurate temperature information.
When you search, if your area receives an advisory or warning about excessive heat, you’ll find details about predicting the start and end of heat waves, as well as tips on how to stay cool and other health concerns. It shows. Google also relies on your location data to provide these warnings.
This is the latest effort to protect users from hazardous climatic conditions. Google already has systems in place to warn users of potential earthquakes, floods, and other natural disasters.
Google also details Tree Canopy, part of the Environmental Insights Explorer. It also gets useful updates for the city as the weather heats up. This initiative utilizes both AI and aerial imagery to show the city’s current tree cover. This is a tactic used to combat high temperatures. Austin, Texas is using this new tool to understand and reduce the “heat island” while the tree canopy is being extended to his 350 cities around the world.
Google says more cities will take advantage of this same technology to create cooler living conditions.
There is also a focus on heat islands (urban areas where temperatures tend to be high). Google wants to help cities with areas prone to scorching heat incorporate more “cool roofs”. Effectively cool your building or home.
Google also announced a $5 million donation to the World Resources Institute and its projects. The project uses sensors, AI, and satellite imagery to understand vulnerability to humidity, tree cover, and heat.
