Final Conference LIFE ASTI: Thessaloniki, Rome and Heraklion join forces against the Urban Heat Island to protect the health of vulnerable groups

While summer and threatening heatwaves are at the gates of city centers, LIFE ASTI project presented the results of its actions for the Urban Heat Island phenomenon, at the Final Conference of the project, which took place on Thursday 19th of May 2022, at the City Hall of the Municipality of Thessaloniki. During the Conference were presented the research data of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) identified in 3 European cities (Thessaloniki, Rome and Heraklion), the short-term forecast system warning residents and citizens of cities on the heat load during hot days, as well as proposals for the protection of the health of vulnerable groups in urban areas. The Conference, organized hybridly by the Municipality of Thessaloniki, was attended by a total of more than 80 people (either live or streaming), including project partners from Greece and Italy, representatives of the State, Local and Regional Authorities, the Academic Community and organizations working on the crucial issue of Climate Change.

The Deputy Mayor of Finance and head of Urban Resilience of the Municipality of Thessaloniki, Mr. Michael Koupkas, referred to the successful cooperation of the project partners to find solutions for UHI, while the representatives of the project partners presented the scientific achievements of LIFE ASTI. Special mention was made to the Action Plan of the Municipality of Thessaloniki, the implementation of the Heat Health Watch Warning System of the project as well as the ways vulnerable groups of residents and visitors of the city can be protected.
The success of the Municipality to be selected as one of the 100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities of the EU, that is, those that have set a goal to become climate neutral by 2030, was also mentioned.

Finally, in the Conference there was the opportunity to celebrate 30 years of LIFE program, that counts 5,500 projects and 5 billion euros across Europe, exclusively for the Environment and Climate Change.