You probably know that wearing lighter colors in the summer keeps the body cooler. You might be surprised to find out that scientists are applying this principle in an attempt to cool urban cities plagued by intense summer heat. A team of scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research suggests that the roofs of buildings should be painted white to relieve urban heat. Although their concept is still under investigation, the team used a highly innovative computer model to help demonstrate how this idea would work.

Urban heat becomes a problem in cities in the summer. Many structures utilize asphalt, tar, and other dark substances in construction and these materials absorb heat very quickly, increasing the temperature in a city by 2-5F. This phenomenon is called the urban heat island effect. Using computer simulations, the scientists showed that if all the roofs in a city were painted white, the urban heat island effect could be reduced by 33% because the white roofs would reflect the heat.

Although the study is still in development, it does show some promising evidence that increasing summer temperatures can be curbed in a very simple manner. The researchers did state that the capacity to which the white paint would curb temperatures did also depend on the structure itself, the density of the roof, and the climate of the location. The researchers also may want to test the implementation of ‘green roofs’ which use plants and shrubbery as a way to reduce heat. Not only can these green roofs mitigate heat, they also add dimension and beauty to an otherwise bland and boiling locale.