Beating the Heat (Island Effect) with the Japanese Tradition of Uchimizu

Researchers from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have made a positive connection between the traditional Japanese practice of sprinkling water on the ground and the reduction in ground and air temperature. Samuel Illingworth of The Poetry of Science writes that the research, presented at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly in April, showed a decreased surface and air temperature in a controlled three dimensional area, as measured by fiber optic cables.

Uchimizu involves the sprinkling of water over an area of land (uchi comes from the Japanese verb utsu meaning to hit or strike, and mizu is the Japanese word for water), and it is traditionally performed using a bucket and ladle whilst wearing a yukata.

The findings suggest that the act of uchimizu could help to mitigate the heat island effect in high temperature areas with low permeability.