Climate change is hitting cities harder than ever, with urban areas facing particularly intense heat due to their dense populations and infrastructure. The “urban heat island” effect makes city temperatures significantly higher than surrounding rural regions, driven by materials like concrete and asphalt that retain heat, emissions from vehicles and air-conditioning units, and obstructed airflow from tall buildings.

Cities around the world are adopting measures to combat urban heat. In Chicago, where heatwaves have had deadly consequences, over 500 rooftops have been greened with vegetation to provide natural cooling and insulation. Meanwhile, Los Angeles has coated some of its roads with reflective materials to reduce surface temperatures.

However, a critical challenge remains: a lack of detailed, localized urban temperature data. This gap became evident to entrepreneur Jay Sadiq after founding a startup in Abu Dhabi aimed at developing heat-reducing asphalt. A client suggested pinpointing the city’s hottest areas to maximize the product’s impact, but such granular data was unavailable. That realization led Sadiq to pivot his company, FortyGuard, toward creating data-driven solutions for urban heat management.

The Growing Need for Urban Heat Data
Extreme heat poses severe risks, particularly for vulnerable populations like children and the elderly. According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, by 2100, between half and three-quarters of the global population living in urban areas could face life-threatening heat and humidity levels. Already, global heat-related mortality among people aged 65 and older increased by 85% between 2017 and 2021.

Rising urban temperatures also disrupt daily life, making it harder to sleep and reducing productivity—especially for outdoor workers. Despite the growing focus on urban heat, traditional weather monitoring systems fail to provide the granularity needed for cities. Many stations are located in non-representative areas, like airports or hillsides, and satellite data, while broad, cannot capture the detailed ground-level variations blocked by trees or buildings.

“Historically, most meteorological agencies have focused on monitoring weather at larger scales, rather than at the level of individual neighborhoods,” explains James Voogt, a professor specializing in urban climatology at the University of Western Ontario. While some cities, like Hong Kong, have begun deploying dense meteorological networks, many urban areas lack this capability.

Leveraging AI for Smarter Solutions
FortyGuard, now with 16 employees and offices in Abu Dhabi and San Jose, California, aims to fill this gap. The company collects 32 billion data points daily from third-party sources—though the specifics remain confidential due to competition. Using AI, FortyGuard creates advanced models that account for factors like elevation, vegetation, water bodies, and atmospheric conditions. This approach offers a more comprehensive understanding of how temperatures are experienced in different urban areas.

According to Sadiq, FortyGuard can model urban temperatures with 89% accuracy for areas as small as 10 square meters in some U.S. cities. The startup has worked with clients such as Masdar City, a sustainable urban development in the UAE, to identify heat hotspots and guide decisions on adding cooling elements like trees and water features.

While the company currently offers advisory services, it aims to integrate its technology into broader platforms, such as real estate or mapping tools. For example, homebuyers could assess the coolest neighborhoods, or joggers could plan the best routes for morning runs. Sadiq notes that the company is nearing the close of a major funding round to support this shift.

Urban Heat Innovation and Challenges
FortyGuard isn’t alone in tackling urban heat with technology. Real estate platforms like Zillow have started integrating climate risk data, such as heat exposure and wildfire hazards, into their listings. Google has also launched an AI-powered Heat Resilience tool to help cities address extreme heat using satellite and aerial imagery.

While experts like Voogt and Chao Ren, an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong specializing in climate design, recognize the need for high-resolution urban heat data, they stress the importance of transparency in data sources, validation, and AI training methods. “The key is how the AI is trained and on what data,” says Voogt.

Ren adds that the real impact of urban heat data depends on how it’s used. Effective strategies involve educating the public, creating warning systems, and incorporating heat mitigation measures into city planning and building codes. “The question is: who will use this data, and how will it be implemented to create tangible change?” she says.

As urbanization continues and heatwaves grow more frequent, the need for innovative solutions like FortyGuard’s has never been more urgent. The challenge now lies in turning data into action to safeguard the future of urban living.

Source