Modelling pavement watering effects on urban heat mitigation with a fast urban climate model

• A pavement watering model was integrated to the TARGET urban climate model. • Preliminary model testing showed novel insights to pavement watering strategies. • The model is can estimate cooling impacts at city-scale computational-efficiently. • We offer a new tool to explore planning scenarios and heat mitigation measures. Pavement watering is considered as a possible solution to mitigate urban heat and adapt urban environments to climate change. Yet, modelling tools to support the planning of such practices, especially at larger scales, are scarce. This study presents the integration of pavement watering dynamics into an existing urban climate model. The proposed new model was evaluated against measurements as well as modelling data with a good agreement. We then tested our integrated approach with different input information to ensure the robustness and reliability of its results, showing that a reduction of 15 °C in surface temperature and up to 2 °C in air temperature can be induced by wetting impervious pavements. Results also provide some first insights into possible best practices for pavement watering and surface and air temperatures reduction. Finally, a city-scale simulation demonstrated the potential impact of scaling up the pavement watering simulation process. The proposed model opens up new opportunities for further understanding of the cooling impact and water demand of pavement watering practices, offering new approaches to smart planning of heat mitigation measures for more liveable cities.