As Arab cities face rising temperatures, the answer may lie in less concrete and more plants

DUBAI: Intensifying summer heat and accelerating climate change is a problem faced by every city in the world. Perhaps nowhere is it as destructive to everyday life than in the Arab world, where even before any notable global warming, summer temperatures can reach unbearable levels. It is a problem that urban planners and architects from around the region have argued can be mitigated by reducing the “Urban Heat Island effect,” or UHI, in our concrete-laden cities by adding green spaces. UHI is a