As per Euronews.green, a recently published study revealed that cool painting coatings could lower nearby temperatures by as much as 1.5 degrees Celsius. This is the work of researchers at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), who painted the roofs, walls and roads in an industrial area in Singapore to reflect the sun's heat and to assess the effectiveness of this process.

Thus, they were able to prove that there are certain paints that can help temporarily solve our excessive heating issue that the cities feel, as so far, previous studies conducted in this matter were based on simulations or scale-down models.

Scientists compared the coated area of the city with an uncoated space located nearby to analyze temperature and comfort levels. They measured things like air movement, humidity and radiation levels over the course of two months and discovered that the coated area experienced a 30% reduction in released heat.

The results showed that overall temperatures during the peaks of a day were as much as two degrees cooler, an improvement that can't be ignored.

If we are assessing individual spots, roofs coated with the special paint were able to reflect 50% more sun heat, while absorbing 40% less of it during the hottest times of a day.

Pedestrians also felt the benefits, as the temperature around the sidewalks they walked on was 1.5 degrees Celsius cooler.

Dr E V S Kiran Kumar Donthu, lead author of the study, said that "our study provides evidence that cool paint coatings reduce heat build-up and contribute to the cooling of the urban environment."

"This is a minimally intrusive solution for urban cooling that has an immediate effect, compared to other options that often require major urban redevelopment to deploy", he added.

This solution can be implemented quickly and fairly cheaply by cities that are heavily affected by hot weather as a short-term solution to the ever-warming climate, until more effective and longer-term focused methods are being implemented.

As Europe experienced one of its warmest summer seasons yet last year, cooling paint could be an important addition to a city's budget.

Photo source: NTU