Los Angeles is painting some of its streets white in an effort to keep the city cool.

The white seal coat, made by a company called GuardTop, is sprayed on roads by a truck. A team of city workers with squeegees then distribute the seal coat evenly across the surface.

Dark-colored or black asphalt absorbs between 80% and 95% of the sun's rays, heating up LA's streets up to 150 degrees F. The light-coated streets, on the other hand, reflect much more of the sun's rays and are an average of 10 to 15 degrees F cooler than regular asphalt streets.

While the coatings last for seven years, they are expensive, costing about $40,000 per mile.

But these cooler streets also reflect less heat onto buildings, saving on air-conditioning costs and reducing the effects of climate change.