Erfurt (dpa/th) – The Thuringian State Office for the Environment, Mining and Nature Conservation and the city of Erfurt are using mobile measuring devices to track down so-called heat islands in the state capital. With the devices attached to municipal vehicles, the air temperature and relative humidity are measured every 20 seconds while driving, as the state office announced on Tuesday. Heat islands arise in places where dark asphalt and concrete surfaces heat up to up to 50 degrees Celsius, creating oppressively warm air.
The data supports the development of a catalog of measures for the city’s heat action plan, which Erfurt is currently the first municipality in Thuringia to set up. On the basis of the measurements and the resulting maps, among other things, the importance of green street spaces in comparison to non-green and heavily sealed areas can be seen and counted.
The state office explained that the mobile measurements would support the transformation process towards a climate-friendly city and improve the data situation for future measures in urban and transport development. Heat waves cannot be avoided, but the Thuringian state capital will be better prepared for them in the future.
