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Urban Heat Islands (UHI) occur when cities are significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas due to dense buildings, heat-absorbing surfaces, and limited vegetation, exposing large urban populations in Europe—especially in Southern cities—to elevated heat and related health risks.

  • Urban Heat Island (UHI) is a phenomenon where urban areas experience higher temperatures than the surrounding rural areas due to human activities, dense buildings, asphalt and concrete surfaces, and limited vegetation. UHI exacerbates exposure of people to heat, affecting their health and well-being, increasing risks among vulnerable populations.

  • Many European cities have a large share of residents living in areas with pronounced UHI effects, with nearly all residents affected in cities such as Malaga, Genoa, and Athens. In absolute numbers, Paris, Athens, and Barcelona have the highest number of people exposed. Southern European cities are particularly at risk.

  • The percentage of older adults (age 65+) in population if UHI-affected areas reflects their share of the total population, but in some cities such as Pécs, Venice, and Porto, they are notably overrepresented. A similar, or slightly lower percentage of children (age 14 and under) is present in UHI-affected populations compared to their population share in the city/country.

  • In some cities, such as Brussels, Liège, and Porto, people who are not in employment are slightly overrepresented in the population within UHI, compared to their share in the total city population.

In some cities, such as Barcelona, Brussels, and Berlin, people born outside the EU are overrepresented in areas exposed to the UHI effect.

Use the dashboard below to learn more about who is exposed to the urban heat island effect.

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This translation is generated by eTranslation, a machine translation tool provided by the European Commission.