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Reforms and Investments

Climate Adaptation - The Urban Heat Island effect in Rome

Supporting reforms to transition to a green economy and fight climate change

Funding Programme
Year
  • 2023

Climate Adaptation - The Urban Heat Island effect in Rome

The European Commission supported the City of Rome to mitigate and adapt to climate-related risks, particularly the urban heat island (UHI) effect.

Context

Rome is increasingly exposed to rising temperatures and more frequent heatwaves, placing growing pressure on both the urban environment and public health. The Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect - where densely built-up areas experience significantly higher temperatures than surrounding rural zones - poses serious risks, particularly for vulnerable populations, and threatens the city’s overall livability. Addressing these challenges requires coordinated, evidence-based interventions grounded in scientific evidence, inclusive stakeholder engagement and strong alignment with Rome’s Climate Change Adaptation Strategy.

Support delivered

The project adopted a structured, phased approach combining technical analysis, stakeholder engagement, and capacity building to ensure robust, actionable outcomes. 

The support delivered included:

  • UHI risk profiling and selection of intervention areas: the risk profiling exercise applied a Hazard–Exposure–Vulnerability framework, integrating microclimatic, socio-economic, and urban morphology data to map UHI risks and identify priority areas for intervention.
  • Two draft Action Plans for two pilot areas: the draft action plans identified cost-efficient UHI mitigation measures for two pilot areas. The measures were co-designed with local stakeholders and informed by international good practices.
  • A practical Intervention Manual, cataloguing UHI mitigation measures for the City of Rome, aimed at supporting municipal civil servants with the identification and implementation of future actions.
  • Capacity building: A tailored training programme equipped municipal officials with technical and operational skills to implement and replicate UHI mitigation measures.

Results achieved

In the longer term, the project is expected to contribute to a measurable reduction of UHI-related risks and impacts, particularly in the most vulnerable areas and population groups in Rome.

If implemented, the Action Plans could reduce perceived temperature (PET) by up to 18 °C in the two pilot areas, and generate estimated benefits of €37 million over 20 years through job creation, improved health and wellbeing, and urban regeneration enhancing city attractiveness. They would also save around 12 million litres of water and sequester up to 900 tonnes of CO₂ per year. 

More about the project

You can read the documents related to the project here: