From nightlife to life at night: cities must stay open later to beat the rising heat

The heat is forcing a change in urban rhythms

A summer that will likely rank among the hottest on record has brought wildfires from France to Greece and drought that has turned London’s Hyde Park brown. Much of Europe has again been sweltering through heatwaves. Most European cities, researchers note, are designed to weather cold rather than intense heat, yet temperatures are now regularly climbing past 35°C. Prolonged, damaging heat, they argue, is forcing rapid change — not by abandoning normal life, but by delaying it until cooler conditions arrive in the evening.

New research on Australian cities offers measurable evidence of this shift. Using two years of anonymised bank card transaction data and daily temperature records from Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide, researchers found that overall spending fell by 7% during heatwaves. Consumers spent less between midday and early evening, before spending stabilised after sunset.

The study, which covers transactions from January 2023 to December 2024, recorded 62 days across the three cities when temperatures reached 35°C or higher — 27 in Adelaide, 20 in Melbourne and 15 in Sydney. Spending fell sharply during the hottest part of the day, from noon to 6pm, with some purchases postponed to cooler periods or earlier days. Department and variety stores were among the hardest hit: despite being air-conditioned, spending was 35% lower between 3pm and 6pm on the most extreme days. Eating out, entertainment and shopping dropped off during the afternoon before recovering in the evening, while convenience stores proved more resilient. The researchers note that some purchases were postponed but others were lost altogether.

Cities that have already moved things to night

Across the world, a few cities have begun to adapt their daily rhythms to extreme heat. In Dubai, where summer temperatures can now push past 50°C and the Middle East is warming faster than the global average, authorities have opened floodlit public beaches that remain open overnight. Paris and Toulouse have begun keeping parks, gardens and swimming areas open into the night, while Rome and Seville encourage tourists to explore them after sunset. In Seoul, South Korea, more than 120 public libraries stay open until 10pm to act as climate shelters.

Yet the research suggests these remain exceptions. There is little evidence of a wider shift among cities to adapt their daily rhythms to extreme heat, with most still organised around a daytime model. Public transport becomes less frequent after the commuter rush, community centres, childcare facilities and public buildings tend to close early, and parks often lack adequate lighting or safety measures for cooler evening visits. The researchers say officials in many cities are not actively planning for a future where extreme temperatures make afternoons unpleasant or dangerous.

The barriers to moving life to night

Extending activity into the night is not as simple as stating later closing hours. Workers with fixed hours cannot easily move their workday to cooler periods, parents are tied to school schedules, and older adults and people with limited mobility face constraints from transport and services that are less available after dark. These groups, the researchers point out, face real constraints in shifting their daily routines.

To support a shift toward night-time living, the researchers suggest boosting evening public transport frequencies, extending library hours, installing better lighting in public space, and making parks and other public spaces safe at night. They emphasize that establishing more night-time activities is not just about entertainment; normal life is moving to nighttime to avoid the heat. Strengthening social infrastructure — libraries, sports facilities and community centres — will be needed to keep cities open later.

The overtime on the economy could be significant. The study’s lead researcher, who is unnamed in the analysis, notes that as extreme heat becomes more common, it will affect businesses and organisations in more cities: 'More of life will have to happen at night.'

A question of equity

The move to a more night-time urban life might not be shared equally. The researchers highlight that workers with fixed hours, carers, parents and older adults face barriers in shifting their daily schedules. Without deliberate planning, they write, cities could emphasise evenings in ways that exclude those already vulnerable to heat and to the constraints of the day.

Established examples from elsewhere suggest adaptation is possible, but it requires policy choices about where infrastructure — such as lighting, transport and cool public spaces — is provided, and at whose cost.