PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The pace of global warming has increased dramatically worldwide over the past decades. The period 2011-2020 was the warmest decade since regular meteorological observations had begun. Temperature trends in Hungary and the Charpathian basin are in line with global trends, exceeding the global increase of 1.2°C by 0.3°C (based on a comparison of domestic and global data between 1901 and 2023). The accelerating warming is clearly indicated by the fact that in Hungary nine of the ten warmest years have occurred since the turn of the Millennium. The shift in temperature extremes also clearly shows that the Carpathian basin has warmed significantly in recent decades. This trend poses serious risks, particularly for cities already facing heat island effects. The number of heat-wave days in the Carpathian Basin will increase significantly until the end of the 21st century, too, especially in the Great Plain, and in particular in the Transtisza region and western Romania. Hungarian urban centres located in this southeastern belt of the Great Plain are especially vulnerable, with a high degree of degradation of municipal green spaces at the settlement level and a higher exposure of the population to heat waves. In Romania, similar patterns to that of Hungary are evident. Cities like Oradea, situated in the western part of the country, experience the same increasing frequency and intensity of heatwaves. These impacts of heatwaves are particularly pronounced in urban environments, where dense urbanization, high proportion of artificial surfaces and lower proportion of green areas, increasing air conditioning and increased car traffic contribute to the urban heat island effect.
OBJECTIVES
The project aims to mitigate the impacts of increasing heatwaves and the urban heat island effect in the cities Debrecen (Hungary) and Oradea (Romania) and their Functional Urban Areas (FUAs).
By integrating climate vulnerability assessments and high-resolution climate models, the project aims to identify vulnerable hotspots and implement adaptive interventions in both urban and peri-urban areas. These Climate Vulnerability Assessments (CVAs) aim to guide the development of practical recommendations at the FUA level and inform policy-making at local and regional levels, supporting a more integrated approach for FUAs to better adapt to climate change in Hungary and Romania.
Recognizing that climate impacts vary across urban areas, the project supports place-specific adaptation strategies for different neighbourhoods and public spaces emphasizing multi-level governance, knowledge sharing, and joint climate adaptation efforts in Debrecen and Oradea.
RESULTS
The LIFE COOL ZONE project is deeply tied to its focus on Functional Urban Areas (FUAs), which provide an innovative framework for addressing climate adaptation challenges.
The project will implement nature-based pilot interventions in the 2 selected pilot FUA areas to address the heatwave vulnerabilities identified with the conducted climate modeling and vulnerability assessments.
By focusing on integrated solutions, both physical (e.g. green roofs, walls) and methodological (e.g., decision-support tools), the project has the potential to mitigate the urban heat island effect, reduce heat-related health risks in Debrecen and Oradea and the settlements which are affected in their FUAs.
The project will also integrate at least five new vulnerability map layers into the Hungarian National Adaptation Geo-information System (NAGiS), based on the climate modeling and statistical vulnerability assessments carried out.
Furthermore, urban planning and development documents for Debrecen and Oradea will be revised to incorporate heatwave adaptation measures-support tools.
Key expected impacts include the reduction of the number of people vulnerable to climate change (40,000 by project end), as well as the reduction of vulnerable areas (8 km² by project end), primarily through targeted interventions and awareness-raising activities in the most affected urban blocks.