The Vertical Stratification of Air Temperature in the Center of Athens

The intraurban temperature variation in the center of Athens, Greece, was investigated in relation to urban geometry. This paper describes two main tasks: 1) Air temperature was recorded in the center of Athens and at the Meteorological Service Station at the University of Athens. Experimental data were collected through extensive monitoring at four different heights inside five different urban canyons in the center of Athens during the summer period. A measurement uncertainty analysis was carried out to estimate critical threshold values of air temperature below which differences were not significant. 2) The correlation between urban–suburban air temperature differences was assessed, using the geometrical characteristics of each urban street canyon. Urban–rural air temperature differences were considered to be not important if they were below the threshold value of 0.3°C. It was concluded that the major factor controlling urban–suburban air temperature differences was the geometry of the urban area. Other factors were the orientation of the observational sites, the current weather conditions, and the inversion of air masses adjacent to the ground level. An increase in the value of aspect ratios leads to a decrease in the difference between air inside the canyons and at the suburban station. The air temperature profile in an open-space area was the most important defining factor for the stratification of the urban–rural air temperature differences.