 The study presents a global data set of seasonal and diurnal anomalies in urban surface temperatures relative to rural surroundings, and uses satellite observable parameters in a simple model informed by the surface energy balance to understand the dominant drivers of present and future urban heating. If city growth remains unchanged, it is projected that urban populations will live in areas with daytime summer temperatures that are 3.21 degrees Celsius warmer than surrounding rural areas by 2100, resulting in a significant increase in the number of people living under extreme surface temperatures. However, the study also finds a significant potential for mitigation through optimizing vegetation and surface albedo in 82% of all urban areas, which could reduce urban daytime summer surface temperatures by an average of minus 0.81 degrees Celsius. This article was authored by Suzanne A. Benz, Stephen J. Davis and Jennifer A. Burney. We are article.tv, links in the description below.