Reflective surfaces, such as unploughed fields and brighter cities, could help lower temperatures during periods of hot weather, according to new research.

Researchers from ETH Zurich, a science and technology university in Switzerland, with colleagues from the US and Australia, have developed new techniques for land use and urban radiation management to help lower extreme summer temperatures in local areas.

The study was published in the journal 'Nature Geoscience'.

Higher levels of reflection break up temperature peaks

Techniques developed to cool local climates include:

• leaving fields unploughed after harvest, which reflect significantly more sunlight than ploughed fields
• selecting brighter crop species
• use of reflective material on roofs, streets and other urban infrastructure, including painting buildings white

“These measures could help to lower extreme temperatures in agricultural regions and densely populated areas by up two to three degrees Celsius,” says Sonia Seneviratne, ETH Professor of Land-Climate Dynamics and first author of the study.

The hotter it becomes, the stronger the effect, says the research, though the cooling effect only works in the short term and only affects the local area.

“Even this climate technique is no silver bullet; it’s just one potential tool among several others in the battle against climate change," says Seneviratne.

Read an abstract or purchase the full article: Seneviratne SI, Phipps SJ, Pitman AJ, Hirsch AL, Davin EL, Donat MG, Hirschi M, Lenton A, Wilhelm M, Kravitz B, titled "Land radiative management as contributor to regional-scale climate adaptation and mitigation', in Nature Geoscience, 29 January 2017.

Read more about ways to manage climate change:

Sydney will spend $8m on trees to cool the city

Why poor suburbs are hotter

Vertical gardens on the rise