ASU study: Urban sprawl might cause higher summer temps

Phoenix’s CBS 5 evening news on Aug. 13 opened with a story by reporter Rebecca Thomas featuring an interview with Matei Georgescu, assistant professor with ASU’s School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning.

The broadcast described recently published research conducted by Georgescu, together with colleagues in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at ASU and at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The report explains how the researchers used growth projections by the Maricopa Association of Governments to model potential temperature increases due to urban expansion extending from Prescott through Phoenix and south to the Arizona border. 

Georgescu explained that in the worst-case scenario, the region could see increases of summertime temperatures as high as 7 degrees. He also points out that the climate impact of urban growth can be offset by a number of strategies, such as painting building rooftops white, planting trees for shade, and using porous asphalt.

The research findings described in the news broadcast are reported fully in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Additional news reports on the research include:

• ASU Study: Arizona will only get hotter, 3 TV - AZFamily.com, Aug. 14, 2012

• City Temps May Soar From Urbanization, Global Warming, Climate Central, Aug. 15, 2012