Uchimizu

To try and deal with the Urban Heat Island Effect that turns Tokyo into a concrete jungle sweatbox every summer, the government have a campaign called Uchimizu that encourages people to sprinkle water on pavements and roads outside their shops and homes between July 23 and Aug 23. 

They reckon the temperature can drop by 2ºC if everyone does this. They encourage you to re-use bathwater or rainwater but not sure how practical that is for shops.

It’s apparently caught on in France and Sweden but I can’t see Sydney swapping the hose pipe bans for a communal Sprinkle day any time soon.