Public seminar on urban heat in Europe in Oslo

In April (3/04/2025) we organized a public seminar on urban heat in Oslo. The event was organized at Interkulturellt museum in Oslo. Karin Ekhman and Nuria Castell (NILU) and Zofia Boni (AMU) presented our research on urban heat in southern and central-eastern Europe, particularly older adults (65+) experiences of heat, as well as the report on urban heat in northern Europe.

We screened the ethnographic film The Wave. After the film we had coffee and cake. Several participants had their own experiences of living in warm countries and talked about how they were taught (by parents and grandparents) to keep the heat out. The audience members also made comments on specific parts of the film that were familiar to them. After some discussions about our own experiences in relation to urban heat, reflections were shared on how older adults manage urban heat and the cultural differences in relation to adaptation approaches.

After the film, the seminar proceeded with presenting the work done in EmCliC+ Societal Engagement. Zofia Boni presented the findings from the partcipatory workshops conducted in Warsaw, on older adults’ challenges related to urban heat and their ideas for adaptation. The participants asked questions and reflected upon the list of suggested adaptation measures, for example the cooling centers and shaded bus stops.

At the end of the seminar, Karin Ekhman presented the climate risks, mitigation and adaptation measures in Oslo and the Nordic countries. Since urban heat is not considered the main climate risk, but rather extreme precipitation and overflow of water, the adaptation measures in Oslo are focusing on mitigating effects of heavy rainfall instead of managing heat. One positive thing is that they focus on nature-based solutions, such as urban greenery that is also mitigating the effects of urban heat. The participants then proceeded to discuss their own Oslo experiences, such as cutting trees in the city center, building bike lanes at the expense of greenery, and a general focus in the city to provide places to enjoy summer in the middle of the city center.

We ended the seminar with a concluding question; do we enjoy warm weather too much in the Nordic countries?