Auckland University's Dr Timothy Welch has applied his urban design skills to help local councils better understand what they need to do to keep their towns and cities cooler in a warming world.

Dr Welch recently wrote about this on The Conversation in the story: "NZ cities are getting hotter: 5 things councils can do now to keep us cooler when summer comes".

His story begins: "Stand on any car park on a sunny day in February and the heat will radiate through your shoes. At 30°C air temperature, that asphalt hits 50–55°C – hot enough to cause second-degree burns to skin in seconds."