From mobile jungles to shadow art: how Dutch people try to beat the heat | Netherlands

HHouseholds in Amsterdam are being encouraged to hang their curtains outside their windows, while health experts suggest simple ways to ease the heatwave spreading in the Netherlands, where homes are built for good old-fashioned damp and cold Northern European weather.

One viral social media post Last week, Eline Coolen, heat coordinator for the city’s public health institute, urged sweaty city dwellers to install temporary curtain rails or cover curtains or sheets outside to block the sun’s rays from reaching their large windows.

Meanwhile, the government launched a campaign. national heatwave planoffers advice on caring for the elderly and vulnerable, and researchers are trying everything fake trees for shadow art to cool sidewalks and pedestrians.

“Dutch homes, and also many homes in Northern Europe, have very large windows,” Coolen said. “We’ve always built it for the winter season when you want as much sun and warmth as possible in your home.

“But only in Amsterdam every year, 110 people died due to heat – and this number may rise to 600 in the future if serious measures are not taken.”

Inspired by sheets draped over windows in Amsterdam-Noord, where she lives, and a recent trip to Barcelona where people installed blinds on their balconies, she urged people online to make DIY adjustments; Because if you can stop the sun from touching your windows, there will be less heat transfer into your home.

It’s a matter of physics, according to Bert Blocken, professor of mechanical engineering at Heriot-Watt University, who believes in alternatives to energy-sapping air conditioning.

“Even on very nice, sunny days, we spend most of our time indoors because we’re working or sleeping, but also when we’re recovering from heat waves,” he said.

“We must keep our buildings cool, preferably without active cooling devices. Climate adaptation of buildings is important, but today many are still built with large, glazed facades that generate a lot of heat.”

Very big body of research He said it showed that the best way to keep a building cool was to simply keep the sun out. If architects found the fabric-lined canopy unsightly, modern, retractable outdoor shutters had them.

“The ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans did this dozens of centuries ago, but sometimes we are very good at forgetting the lessons of the past,” Blocken said. “If I were mayor, my first executive order would be to install exterior solar shades on all buildings.”

According to RIVM, the Netherlands’ national public health institute, there are three levels of action: behaviour, housing and urban design. Werner Hagens, coordinator of the Dutch heatwave plan, said the new research showed that simple awareness campaigns worked. Shown to reduce deaths during heat waves.

“You can make changes to the area, you can make more green space, you can make changes to the building like screens and maybe other cooling mechanisms, but you can also give perspectives on how the people inside them can minimize the heat,” he said. “These temperatures can pose risks to people with fragile health and reduce the risks.”

A study by the homeowners association Vereniging Eigen Huis 23% of people Survey respondents felt their homes were too hot due to the heatwave, but four in five tried to do their best to cool their homes.

While building owners can whitewash flat roofs and invest in exterior shutters, Blocken said greenery is important: not just green roofs and facades, but also large parks, trees and green spaces.

Fake trees, greenery-covered pergolas and mobile “forest blocks” can it all be help pedestrians stay cool and even moderate temperatures a bitAccording to Jeroen Kluck, professor of climate resilient cities at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.

“There’s always a reason not to do it: limited public space, no more money,” he said. “But it makes the city more attractive, livable on hot days, and increases biodiversity. If you have shade, a nice place to sit under it, and plants that can withstand some drought, all of that helps.”

Sandra Phlippen, economist and head of climate strategy at ABN Amro, said it made economic sense. local governments and businesses invest. “One night of insomnia [costs] close to €200 [£173]he said.

“Imagine a street with 100 people, everyone sleeps badly for three nights due to a heat wave and is unproductive the next day. That’s your investment in trees all year round.”