Athens Hits Refresh: Beating the Heat with Urban Cooling Solutions
Located in southern Greece, Athens is one of Europe’s hottest capitals. Frequent and intense heatwaves threaten public health and urban life. To protect residents, the city is deploying innovative cooling measures, combining nature-based solutions, design, and governance to reduce heat stress.
Reimagining Public Spaces
Over the past 18 months, Athens has planted nearly 7,500 new trees, almost doubling its planting rate compared to the previous four years. Squares, parking lots, and cultural spaces have been redesigned to provide shade, greenery, and thermal comfort.
Cooling in Practice
Measurements with thermal cameras during the summer of 2025 demonstrated the effectiveness of these interventions. In Argentinis Dimokratias Square, surface temperatures dropped from 60°C on exposed pavements to 30°C under tree shade. In Agia Irini Square, cool materials and shading reduced surface heat by 4–6°C.
Microforests and Cooling Gardens
A former parking lot in Ano Kypseli was converted into an urban microforest, cutting surface temperatures from 60°C to 37–40°C. At the Serafio Cultural Center, a cooling garden with pergolas, climbing plants, natural materials, and misting systems reduced perceived temperatures by 4°C during the July 2025 heatwave.
Smart Tools and Partnerships
The Athens Heat Risk digital map identifies hotspots of thermal stress, guiding both municipal interventions and citizen awareness. These efforts are embedded in broader projects such as ASCEND (NetZeroCities) and the Athens Energy Portal (ICLEI Europe), demonstrating strong collaboration between research institutions, local government, and civil society.
Main challenges in addressing heatwaves
- Adapting dense, historic urban areas with limited space for greenery
- Securing sufficient long-term funding for maintenance of cooling infrastructures
- Raising public awareness and ensuring citizen engagement in adaptation projects
Lessons learnt and next steps
- Small and medium-scale interventions can deliver tangible cooling effects quickly.
- Combining nature-based solutions with smart design maximizes impact.
- The city aims to expand the network of cool spots and strengthen citizen participation in planning.
Replicability
Athens demonstrates that effective cooling does not always require large-scale interventions. Compact solutions such as microforests, shaded squares, and cooling gardens can be replicated even in dense urban areas. When combined with digital heat risk mapping, these measures provide a scalable approach to guide planning and prioritisation
Athens is part of the Cities Refresh campaign, creating lively and safe places for all.
A Cooler Dawn for Athens in 2030
Every summer, it seems to get hotter and Athens is on a determined path to make the city more resilient to future heatwaves. This story is part of the REACHOUT project.
Cover photo: Municipality of Athens,2025
