Austria urges greening of cities and large parking lots to combat heat

Greenpeace examined the 80 most populous Austrian cities, matching satellite data on green‑space share with the number of days above 30 °C last year. Six cities – Wolfsberg, St. Veit, Völkermarkt, Vienna, Eisenstadt and Leibnitz – faced very high heat loads with the lowest green‑space percentages, while others such as Klosterneuburg and Groß‑Enzersdorf fared better because more than 45 % of their centre is vegetated. The organisation calls for a “NaturStadt‑Garantie” to obligate municipalities to raise green‑area coverage, noting that “Bäume und Grünflächen sind das beste Mittel gegen Hitze, denn sie kühlen ihre Umgebung spürbar.”

The mobility association VCÖ, citing temperatures of up to 60 °C on asphalted parking areas, demands that any parking lot with more than 30 spaces be desaturated and planted with vegetation. It argues that shading not only cools the micro‑climate for nearby residents but also lowers car interior temperatures, stating, “Mehr Schatten auf Parkplätzen schafft eine Win‑win Situation: Für die Bevölkerung in der Umgebung verbessert sich das Mikroklima, und gleichzeitig können Autos im Schatten parken.” These measures aim to mitigate the growing urban heat stress across Austria.