High resolution thermal stress mapping in africa: decision maps for urban planning in Johannesburg

Urban planning will benefit from tools that can assess the vulnerability to thermal stress in urban dense cities. Detailed quick-scan heat stress maps, as made in this study for Johannesburg, have proven valuable in the decision-making process on this topic. It raised awareness on the urgent need to implement measures to tackle the effects of climate change and urbanization. Awareness on heat stress has led to the implementation of measures to mitigate the effects of climate change. As in other countries, nature-based solutions (e.g. green roofs and walls, swales, rain gardens, planting trees etc) are considered in urban areas in South Africa for various reasons. The awareness of the effect of nature based solutions on heat stress is still low, which can be improved by the use of heat stress maps. Some of these measures are already mapped on the open source web tool, Climate-scan (www.climatescan.nl) for international knowledge exchange around the globe