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Environmental Science · Literature

Research papers on Urban heat islands

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  2. Surface Urban Heat Island Across 419 Global Big Cities

    Shushi Peng, Shilong Piao, Philippe Ciais, et al. · 2011 · Environmental Science & Technology · 1,396 citations

    Urban heat island is among the most evident aspects of human impacts on the earth system. Here we assess the diurnal and seasonal variation of surface urban heat island intensity (SUHII) defined as the surface temperature difference between urban area and suburban area measured from the MODIS. Differences in SUHII are analyzed across 419 global big cities, and we assess several potential biophysical and socio-economic driving factors. Across the big cities, we show that the average annual daytime SUHII (1.5 ± 1.2 °C) is higher than the annual nighttime SUHII (1.1 ± 0.5 °C) (P < 0.001). But no correlation is found between daytime and nighttime SUHII across big cities (P = 0.84), suggesting di

  3. Utilising green and bluespace to mitigate urban heat island intensity

    Kanchane Gunawardena, M.J. Wells, Tristan Kershaw · 2017 · The Science of The Total Environment · 1,375 citations

    It has long been recognised that cities exhibit their own microclimate and are typically warmer than the surrounding rural areas. This 'mesoscale' influence is known as the urban heat island (UHI) effect and results largely from modification of surface properties leading to greater absorption of solar radiation, reduced convective cooling and lower water evaporation rates. Cities typically contain less vegetation and bodies of water than rural areas, and existing green and bluespace is often under threat from increasing population densities. This paper presents a meta-analysis of the key ways in which green and bluespace affect both urban canopy- and boundary-layer temperatures, examined fro

  8. Synergistic Interactions between Urban Heat Islands and Heat Waves: The Impact in Cities Is Larger than the Sum of Its Parts

    Dan Li, Elie Bou‐Zeid · 2013 · Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology · 887 citations

    Abstract Cities are well known to be hotter than the rural areas that surround them; this phenomenon is called the urban heat island. Heat waves are excessively hot periods during which the air temperatures of both urban and rural areas increase significantly. However, whether urban and rural temperatures respond in the same way to heat waves remains a critical unanswered question. In this study, a combination of observational and modeling analyses indicates synergies between urban heat islands and heat waves. That is, not only do heat waves increase the ambient temperatures, but they also intensify the difference between urban and rural temperatures. As a result, the added heat stress in ci

  12. Cities, Climate Change and Urban Heat Island Mitigation: Localising Global Environmental Science

    Jason Corburn · 2009 · Urban Studies · 200 citations

    This paper explores how city planners engaged with global climate scientists to devise contextually relevant strategies to address the urban heat island effect—a potentially dangerous heat event expected to increase along with global warming. Drawing original data from the New York City Regional Heat Island Initiative, a collaborative effort between scientists and urban planners, the paper highlights how global climate science is `localised' as researchers and policy-makers struggle to make technically legitimate and politically accountable decisions. The paper argues that the localisation of global science often involves a process of co-production, where technical issues are not divorced fr

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