Climate protection through albedo enhancement

The predicted effects of climate change in Central Europe indicate that weather conditions with little exchange will occur more frequently. Urban overheating is also becoming increasingly common, especially at night, particularly in Central European conurbations. At the same time, cities have many sources of CO2, and little of it can be directly absorbed by sinks, e.g. plants. Measures to combat climate change should focus on this area in particular. Less well known at present is the possibility of reducing urban overheating and making a significant contribution to climate protection by using lighter-coloured roofs and road surfaces. These and similar measures are referred to as albedo-enhancing measures. Lighter and therefore mostly more reflective surfaces reflect more of the energy from incident solar radiation directly back into space. As a result, urban areas heat up less and require less energy to cool buildings. This thesis addresses the relevance of albedo-enhancing measures and applies them to urban areas.