Near the Atacama Desert, Tacna city in Peru is among the largest arid cities with constant urban development, thus understanding of the urban surface thermal pattern is needed. We propose a comprehensive study of the urban heat island phenomenon, with the objective of (1) determining the spatial and temporal variations of the urban heat islands (UHIs), in the period 1985 to 2020; (2) analyzing the relationship between the UHI and influencing factors such as vegetation, urban area, and population, using indices calculated with satellite images. The Google Earth Engine repository was used to evaluate the corrected images from the years 1985 to 2020. The coincidence between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and normalized difference built-up index (NDBI) was good, negative between NDVI and the land surface temperature (LST), attributable to dense vegetation, and negative and very high (−0.81) between NDBI and NDVI, as massive urbanization leads to the reduction in the vegetal surface. The NDBI has a high impact on the LST; a coefficient of connections is recorded as 0.46. Tacna is a very arid region, and an increase in the time of the LST occurred with the increase in industrialization and urbanization. The land use/cover change (LUCC) evidences change in the climate in the city of Tacna; temperatures of 24.2 °C to 44.2 °C are observed in the built-up areas. In vegetated areas, the temperature remains below 24 °C, which is associated with a high rate of potential evapotranspiration. Thus, this study shows that variations in urban form and growth have produced the development of intraurban surface thermal patterns.

In recent decades, Latin America (LA) has been frequently and severely affected by floods and landslides. There is an urgency for adopting Comprehensive Disaster and Climate Risk Management (CRM). In 2016, a group of Peruvian universities established a network (Gestión Integral del Riesgo de Desastres y Adaptación al Cambio Climático (GIRD-ACC)) committed to the principles of CRM. This article compiles and evaluates the network results/plans and actions. A qualitative study and a methodological strategy are reported featuring: a bibliographic/network documentary review; an account of the events that led to the start and development of the network; and a case study of a three-university network. Results show that the network can help in deepening knowledge and forging a culture of risk prevention. This is by incorporating risk management and climate change awareness in professional training and intensive activity to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs -11, 13, and 17). Results indicate the importance of gaining consensus (a notoriously difficult task in LA) between the authorities and the operational departments; the role of universities’ social responsibilities; incorporating sustainability and risk management themes in the mainstream curricula; and developing a network by learning from similar groupings across LA to improve CRM within universities.