The Group on Earth Observations has announced that it has partnered with C40 Cities in a new urban heat study collaboration within the IBM Sustainability Accelerator program.

The aim is to address UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 by developing “a data-driven, AI-powered solution to help cities analyse potential risks that may arise as a result of extreme heat and the urban heat island effect”.

Those risks include stressed energy resources, increases in mortality rates, and socioeconomic disparities.

“As cities grow and temperatures continue to rise around the world, so do the challenges of extreme heat and its impact on urban populations,” said Yana Gevorgyan, Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Secretariat Director.

“At the Group on Earth Observations, we are committed to turning Earth Intelligence into action by equipping communities with the data they need to build resilience.

“Through our collaboration with C40 and IBM as part of the IBM Sustainability Accelerator, we will test initial ideas from GEO’s Global Heat Resilience Service to demonstrate how AI-powered insights and geospatial data can help cities mitigate heat risks and protect vulnerable communities.”

C40 Cities is a network of nearly 100 mayors of some of the world’s major cities, including Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland.

The partners will collaborate over two years and in two phases on the urban heat project, receiving up to US$3 million in cash and in-kind donations of technology and services.

The first phase will use IBM Garage, described as a “program governance platform that helps … prioritise, align and transparently track” initiatives.

That will be followed by a development and implementation phase, which will leverage IBM resources and technology and support pilot deployments in communities.