Heat Island Mitigation Strategies
Heat islands are urbanized areas that experience higher temperatures than outlying areas . Structures such as buildings, roads, and other infrastructure absorb and re-emit the sun's heat more than natural landscapes such as forests and water bodies.
Why is the urban heat island effect dangerous?
Higher air pollution reduced nighttime cooling , and increased temperatures as outcomes of urban heat island can adversely affect human health. Human health is negatively impacted because of increased general discomfort, exhaustion, heat-related mortality, respiratory problems, headaches, heat stroke and heat cramps.
Why are heat islands dangerous?
Heat islands contribute to higher daytime temperatures, reduced nighttime cooling, and higher air-pollution levels . These, in turn, contribute to heat-related deaths and heat-related illnesses such as general discomfort, respiratory difficulties, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and non-fatal heat stroke.
How urban heat islands affect people?
Urban heat Islands (UHI) pose a serious threat to public health, particularly for children, the elderly, people with respiratory illnesses and those who work outdoors. Higher temperatures can increase the risk of heat-related illnesses such as heat stroke or heat stress and even death.
How do urban heat islands affect climate change?
It found that local warming, caused by the urban heat island effect, “ significantly increases temperatures as well as economic losses in addition to global warming .” In fact, the study estimated that the added effects of urban heat island warming could double the economic losses expected from human-caused climate ...
What are four things to reduce a heat island effect?
- Increase shade around your home. ...
- Install green roofs. ...
- Install cool roofs. ...
- Use energy-efficient appliances and equipment. ...
- Check on your friends, family, and neighbors.
How can we reduce the urban heat island effect?
Trees, green roofs, and vegetation can help reduce urban heat island effects by shading building surfaces , deflecting radiation from the sun, and releasing moisture into the atmosphere.
Why are cities so hot?
Throughout the daytime, particularly when the skies are cloudless, urban surfaces are warmed by the absorption of solar radiation . Surfaces in the urban areas tend to warm faster than those of the surrounding rural areas. By virtue of their high heat capacities, urban surfaces act as a giant reservoir of heat energy.
Are cities hotter than the countryside?
The air, surface and soil temperatures in cities are almost always warmer than in rural areas . ... What's more, as populations in warm and hot cities have increased, so too has the demand for indoor cooling – typically met by air conditioning.
How do buildings affect temperature?
The impact of building geometry on temperature is intricated as dense building decreases the temperature through the shading effect , but increases the temperature due to the release of heat energy during nighttime [42,43].
Which place is most likely to experience a heat island effect?
During summer days, urban heat islands are responsible for many deaths in some European cities, such as Barcelona , Madrid, Athens, etc. Urban heat island is most noticeable during the summer and winter.
Do cars contribute to urban heat island?
Motorised vehicles also contribute to the urban heat island effect , as they emit heat that can be trapped in poorly ventilated urban spaces such as urban canyons and form urban smog (Louiza et al., 2015) . ...
What effect does temperature have on trees?
Way and Oren (2010) found that increased temperature generally increases tree growth , except for tropical trees. They suggest that this probably occurs because temperate and boreal trees currently operate below their temperature optimum, while tropical trees are at theirs.
What are 5 factors that affect climate?
Hint:The five main factors which affect the climate of a region are Latitude, Altitude, relief, currents and winds and distance from the sea . Complete answer: Latitude: Climate of a region depends on the latitude where it lies.
Why modern buildings have an effect on heat island?
The increased level of thermal capacity of building masses has a direct bearing on city temperatures. Buildings can store a lot of heat during the day and release this heat slowly overnight. Many modern building materials with impervious surfaces trap heat, further increasing the UHI.
Can we turn down the temperature on urban heat islands?
Ground-level vegetation doesn't necessarily reduce temperature — it's not that much cooler than asphalt — unless it's watered. Shandas also has found that increasing the difference in building heights in an area creates more air circulation, which has a cooling effect.
