One Potential Solution for Curbing Heat in Phoenix? Sunblock for Streets. [View all]

PHOENIX – In a South Phoenix neighborhood of light colored townhomes and neat little front lawns, some of the roads are coated in a light gray sealant. The reason? To see whether it can slow rising temperatures in a fast-warming city.

Over the past year, the city has studied the efficacy of this reflective sealant meant to reduce the absorption of heat in the urban climate, a phenomenon known as the heat island effect. The testing is far from over, but initial findings suggest the treatment may help effectively reduce temperatures.

Alyska Wagner and her husband, Terry Lester, live near Vineyard Road and 40th Avenue, one of eight locations in Phoenix used for the experimental cool pavement sealer, and they have enjoyed what they described as a noticeable difference in the temperature since this sealant was applied. So noticeable, in fact, that Wagner had to pause to remember the kind of heat that “just wasn’t there anymore.”

Most Phoenix residents can’t relate.

“It’s cooler out walking the dogs,” Wagner said. “You don’t feel the heat radiating from it, as opposed to like a parking lot.” The couple also noticed the nighttimes felt cooler, which is a significant component of the project’s goal of reducing heat absorption.

Read more: https://coppercourier.com/story/one-potential-solution-for-curbing-heat-in-phoenix-sunblock-for-streets/