Improving people's standard of living has increased their requirements for the environment. Increasing air temperature in urban areas due to urban heat islands (UHI) has been a global concern since industrialization. Apart from suitable facilities and landscapes, a comfortable outdoor thermal environment can improve the efficiency of urban space use. Ensuring outdoor comfort is an integral part of the design agenda where the UHI phenomenon plays a significant role. A study has been conducted on a residential building campus to analyze the effect of these heat island countermeasures (individual and combined) with the help of the simulation tool Grasshopper. A 3D reference model of a small residential campus is developed. The outdoor thermal comfort level is studied for this case, and Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) is evaluated. Further, several UHI mitigation strategies such as wall and roof reflectivity, vegetation, plantation, pavement configuration, and shading are applied to find their effect on the micro-climate and outdoor thermal comfort. Based on the simulation outcomes, urban geometry is identified as the most influential design factor in decreasing the urban heat island effect and outdoor thermal comfort. The study's principal objective is to develop a simulation framework including all mitigation strategies and find the best case for UHI reduction.

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Vaibhav Rai Khare 
Environmental Design Solutions, New Delhi, Delhi, India

Vaishaly 
Environmental Design Solutions, New Delhi, Delhi, India

Mir Sayed Shah Danish 
Energy Systems (Chubu Electric Power) Funded Research Division, Institute of Materials and Systems for Sustainability (IMaSS), Nagoya University, Japan

Mahdi Khosravy 
Cross Labs, Cross-compass Ltd., Tokyo, Japan

Abdul Matin Ibrahimi 
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan

Alexey Mikhaylov 
Research Center of Monetary Relations, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russian Federation

Tomonobu Senjyu 
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan

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The author(s) has received no specific funding for this article/publication.

The world over-reliance on fossil fuels as a source of energy has led to a tremendous increase in environmental and climate change distresses. It has negatively impacted the ecosystem such that, if not checked, it will lead to dire consequences to the current population and jeopardize future generations’ well-being. The natural capital, being finite, can only sustain the world for several years. This paper analyses how technical, technological, economic, social, institutional, and political dimensions interact with sustainability. It also proposes the best approach to achieving sustainability goals proposed by the United Nations (UN). This empiric analysis paper relies on the literature review not analytical models. It comes up that there is no single methodology that will maintain sustainability requirements by 2030 independence, and every effort toward suitability needs specific measures of a unique nature. A multifaceted approach is ideal. It will take individuals, corporates, civil societies, non-state organizations, and governments to sustain sustainability significantly. All the above-listed dimensions influence environmental sustainability making it imperative to use relevant approaches in pursuing energy and environmental sustainability. Besides, cross-sector and intergovernmental methodologies are vital in achieving sustainable development. Therefore, this study focused on sustainability pillars expositions from lessons learned and examples, including political leadership, governance, policy, legislation, etc. That can influence sustainable development dimensions in achieving overall energy and environmental sustainability objectives. So, sustainability needs to be a global top priority list and executed as a matter of urgency.

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Mir Sayed Shah Danish 
Strategic Research Project Center, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan

Tomonobu Senjyu 
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan

Nadeem Faisal 
Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology, Centre for Skilling and Technical Support, Balasore, Odisha, India

Mohammad Zubair Stanikzai 
Department of Academic Affairs, REPA—Research and Education Promotion Association, Okinawa, 900-0015, Japan

Abdul Malik Nazari 
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kabul University, Kabul 1006, Afghanistan

José G. Vargas-Hernández 
University Center for Economic and Managerial Sciences, University of Guadalajara, 44100 Guadalajara, Jal., Mexico

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Loss of land, disputes on sharing costs, and benefits of transboundary waterways are points of debate between neighboring countries. Unfortunately, weak, undeveloped countries always suffer more than their stronger neighbors. Due to economic, political, and institutional problems, Afghanistan is one country that faces challenges to develop the potential of its water resources. Each year, Amu River flooding causes great losses of land due to massive bank degradations and erosions for up to several kilometers. Currently little progress has been made to study, research, or manage the bank erosions of the Amu River. In the absence of field data, the Bank Stability and Toe Erosion Model (BSTEM) may be used to analyze stream bank stability and toe erosion. This study was conducted to describe the Amu River stream bank using the BSTEM model for a restoration process. A field survey was conducted from February 3, 2019, to February 23, 2019; soil type, layer thickness, water table depth, and stream bank profile are entered into the BSTEM model with two different flow depths according to insights from villagers and well-diggers. Mass failure and toe erosion are two dominant mechanisms of Amu River bank failure, and the effectiveness of vegetation on bank protection is observed.

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Mohammad Omar Rasouli 
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kabul University, Kabul, Afghanistan

Sayed Hashmat Sadat 
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kabul University, Kabul, Afghanistan

Stefanos Xenarios 
Graduate School of Public Policy, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan

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The upper portion of the ‎Panjshir River watershed consists of steep mountain ‎valleys in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which reaches over 6,000 meters above sea ‎level and remains snow covered throughout the year. The Glacier Lakes there pose a potential flood risk to the Panjshir valley. As the weather is warming ‎globally, the increasing temperatures accelerate the melting rate of the ‎glacier, causing the mountain ice caps to melt and create numerous lakes. Over the last decade, two of these lakes ruptured, leaving dozens of deaths, many hectares of land farm washed out, and hundreds of houses destroyed. This study looks at the potential impact of climate change on villagers in the province.‎ Hydro-‎‎meteorological data ‎(wind, temperature, precipitation, and runoff) from five meteorological stations over the last decade were analyzed with satellite imagery. Discharge data at the outlet of this sub-basin over ten years were also analyzed with remote sensing data for higher accuracy and validity.‎ Rising regional climate temperatures have resulted in faster snow and glacier melting, causing more discharge, high evapotranspiration, and higher ‎water demand. Although precipitation decreased between 2008 and 2018, ‎discharge increased from melting glaciers.‎ Satellite imagery reveals 234 lakes in the valley; ‎‎66 lakes have potential or high potential risk to the six districts of this province, and Paryan district is at most risk.

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Mariam Khulmi Sajood 
Department of Hydrometeorology, Faculty of Geoscience, Kabul University, Kabul, Afghanistan

Abdul Ghias Safi 
Department of Hydrometeorology, Faculty of Geoscience, Kabul University, Kabul, Afghanistan

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The author(s) has received no specific funding for this article/publication.