Expanding our Heat Resilience data to 50+ global cities

Google Research is releasing an expanded dataset that measures rooftop reflectivity across more than 50 global cities to help urban planners implement cool-roof solutions. Approximately 500,000 deaths every year are attributed to extreme heat, a problem made worse by the urban heat island effect, which causes cities to warm at double the worldwide average rate due to heat-trapping materials like dark roofs and pavements. The new dataset, created by combining satellite data with high-resolution imagery and machine learning models, provides building-level insights rather than neighborhood averages, enabling cities to identify where cool roofs would reduce temperatures most effectively. Research indicates that targeted cool-roof planning using this data could mitigate extreme urban heat by up to 0.5 degrees Celsius globally.