Expanding our Heat Resilience data to 50+ global cities
Google Research
Google Research released building-level rooftop reflectivity data covering 50+ global cities through a new Heat Resilience Earth Engine App to help urban planners implement cool-roof solutions for mitigating extreme heat. The dataset achieves 30-centimeter spatial resolution by fusing Sentinel-2 satellite data with high-resolution commercial imagery using machine learning, validated against ground measurements with a root mean square error of 0.04. Cities can now prioritize individual buildings for cool-roof retrofits, with targeted interventions potentially reducing extreme urban heat by up to 0.5°C globally.
Why it matters
Climate & Sustainability