scholarly journals Urban Heat Islands in Bahrain: An Urban Perspective

Buildings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Islam Elghonaimy ◽  
Wisam E. Mohammed
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Urban Heat Islands ◽  
Gaseous Emissions ◽  
Urban Context ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Heat Islands ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
The City

Cities across the Arab Gulf region, especially those in Bahrain, have undergone a notable transformation by virtue of the rapid urbanization of the region. Thus, the characteristics of these cities have encountered massive transformation. Accordingly, both governmental and non-governmental projects are authorized for collaborative work to meet the accelerating demands resulting from the increase in population in the Kingdom of Bahrain. However, such projects have been neglected due to other crucial environmental issues. For instance, these projects have resulted in excessive carbon dioxide gaseous emissions. Consequently, these cities are left to suffer from disregarded public spaces and a limited percentage of designed urban open spaces. The case in Bahrain can be summarized as suffering from an absence of the three pillars of sustainability. This has been a fertile ground for the emergence of various urban devastations, among which the “Urban Heat Island” phenomenon adversely affects the urban context of the city. This research investigates these problems, offering propositions to control Urban Heat Islands (UHIs) in Bahrain. Moreover, it aims to recognize the effect of Green Roof Systems in terms of sustainability in order to mitigate UHIs and reduce the threat of Global Warming.

Human rights vs. eco-justice: conflicts and other futures in urban open spaces in Cali, Colombia

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-85
Author(s):  
Sabina Cardenas ◽  
Esteban Angulo
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Urban Heat Islands ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Environmental Rights ◽  
Heat Islands ◽  
Local Pollution ◽  
Structural Order ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
The City

This article offers a novel, grounded way of assessing the intense interaction between human rights and eco-justice in urban open spaces. Using three iconic parks in the city of Cali, Colombia, as its sites of investigation, the article explores how the anthropocentrism of human rights and the structural order that foregrounds them results in eco-justice aspirations being undermined by human rights – including as environmental rights – in these spaces. The article reflects on three negative consequences of the tensions marking the relationships between human rights and eco-justice in Cali: defaunation; a proliferation of ‘urban heat islands’; and increased local pollution.

scholarly journals Urban heat island in Bloemfontein during winter

2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieter Snyman ◽  
A. Stephen Steyn
Keyword(s):  
Maximum Intensity ◽  
Urban Heat Islands ◽  
Urban Air ◽  
Heat Island ◽  
Heat Islands ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Local Topography ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The City

Urban heat islands (UHIs) are characterised by warmer urban air temperatures compared to rural air temperatures, and the intensity is equal to the difference between the two. Air temperatures are measured at various sites across the city of Bloemfontein and then analysed to determine the UHI characteristics. The UHI is found to have a horseshoe shape and reaches a maximum intensity of 8.2 °C at 22:00. The UHI is largely affected by the local topography.

scholarly journals Night Thermal Unmixing for the Study of Microscale Surface Urban Heat Islands with TRISHNA-Like Data

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Granero-Belinchon ◽  
Aurelie Michel ◽  
Jean-Pierre Lagouarde ◽  
Jose A. Sobrino ◽  
Xavier Briottet
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Image Resolution ◽  
Urban Heat Islands ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Regression Kriging ◽  
Heat Islands ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
Land Covers ◽  
The City

Urban Heat Islands (UHIs) at the surface and canopy levels are major issues in urban planification and development. For this reason, the comprehension and quantification of the influence that the different land-uses/land-covers have on UHIs is of particular importance. In order to perform a detailed thermal characterisation of the city, measures covering the whole scenario (city and surroundings) and with a recurrent revisit are needed. In addition, a resolution of tens of meters is needed to characterise the urban heterogeneities. Spaceborne remote sensing meets the first and the second requirements but the Land Surface Temperature (LST) resolutions remain too rough compared to the urban object scale. Thermal unmixing techniques have been developed in recent years, allowing LST images during day at the desired scales. However, while LST gives information of surface urban heat islands (SUHIs), canopy UHIs and SUHIs are more correlated during the night, hence the development of thermal unmixing methods for night LSTs is necessary. This article proposes to adapt four empirical unmixing methods of the literature, Disaggregation of radiometric surface Temperature (DisTrad), High-resolution Urban Thermal Sharpener (HUTS), Area-To-Point Regression Kriging (ATPRK), and Adaptive Area-To-Point Regression Kriging (AATPRK), to unmix night LSTs. These methods are based on given relationships between LST and reflective indices, and on invariance hypotheses of these relationships across resolutions. Then, a comparative study of the performances of the different techniques is carried out on TRISHNA synthesized images of Madrid. Since TRISHNA is a mission in preparation, the synthesis of the images has been done according to the planned specification of the satellite and from initial Aircraft Hyperspectral Scanner (AHS) data of the city obtained during the DESIREX 2008 capaign. Thus, the coarse initial resolution is 60 m and the finer post-unmixing one is 20 m. In this article, we show that: (1) AATPRK is the most performant unmixing technique when applied on night LST, with the other three techniques being undesirable for night applications at TRISHNA resolutions. This can be explained by the local application of AATPRK. (2) ATPRK and DisTrad do not improve significantly the LST image resolution. (3) HUTS, which depends on albedo measures, misestimates the LST, leading to the worst temperature unmixing. (4) The two main factors explaining the obtained performances are the local/global application of the method and the reflective indices used in the LST-index relationship.

scholarly journals A Quantitative Assessment of Surface Urban Heat Islands Using Satellite Multitemporal Data over Abeokuta, Nigeria

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Ishola ◽  
E. C. Okogbue ◽  
O. E. Adeyeri
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Thermal Response ◽  
Urban Heat Islands ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Land Cover Types ◽  
Remarkable Effect ◽  
Heat Islands ◽  
Urban Heat

The fast urban expansion has led to the transformation of the natural landscape into anthropogenic surfaces. The city of Abeokuta, for instance, is located in a region experiencing rapid urbanization, which has produced a remarkable effect on the surface thermal response. This effect significantly influences urban internal microclimatology on a regional scale. In this study, the surface temperatures and land cover types retrieved from Landsat TM and ETM+ images of Abeokuta city for 1984, 2003, and 2014 were analyzed. A quantitative approach was used to assess surface urban heat islands through the relationships among surface temperature and land cover types. Results showed that impervious surface areas were found to be correlated positively with high temperatures. Conversely, vegetated areas and bare surfaces correlated positively with mid temperature zones. This study found that areas with increasing impervious surfaces will accelerate LST rise and consequently lead to increasing effect of surface urban heat islands. These findings pose a major challenge to urban planners. However, the study would help to quantify the impacts of different scenarios (e.g., vegetation loss to accommodate urban growth) on LST and consequently to devise appropriate policy measures.

scholarly journals SATELLITE-DRIVEN ASSESSMENT OF SURFACE URBAN HEAT ISLANDS IN THE CITY OF ZAGREB, CROATIA

2020 ◽  
Vol V-3-2020 ◽  
pp. 757-764
Author(s):  
A. Krtalić ◽  
A. Kuveždić Divjak ◽  
K. Čmrlec
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Urban Heat Islands ◽  
City Centre ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Heat Islands ◽  
Critical Areas ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
The City

Abstract. This study aims to assess surface urban heat islands (SUHIs) pattern over the city of Zagreb, Croatia, based on satellite (optical and thermal) remote sensing data. The spatio-temporal identification of SUHIs is analysed using the 12 sets of Landsat 8 imagery acquired during 2017 (in each month of the year). Vegetation cover within the city boundaries is extracted by using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) data fusion method on calculated three vegetation indices (VI): Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and Ratio Vegetation Index (RVI) for each set of bands. The first principal component was used to compute the land surface temperature (LST) and deductive Environmental Criticality Index (ECI). As expected, the relationship between LST and all VI scores shows a negative correlation and is most negative with RVI. The environmentally critical areas and the patterns of seasonal variations of the SUHIs in the city of Zagreb were identified based on the LST, ECI and vegetation cover. The city centre, an industrial area in the eastern part and an area with shopping centers and commercial buildings in the western part of the city were identified as the most critical areas.

scholarly journals The Influence of Vegetation on UHIs, MUHIs, and Microclimate of Selected Southern Cities

HortScience ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 509A-509
Author(s):  
Derald A. Harp ◽  
Edward L. McWilliams
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Urban Heat Islands ◽  
Shopping Malls ◽  
Heat Islands ◽  
Suburban Areas ◽  
Winter Temperatures ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
The City

Urban areas have average annual temperatures 2–3°C warmer than surrounding rural areas, with daily differences of 5–6°C common. A suggested reason for this temperature difference is the extensive use of concrete, asphalt, and other building materials in the urban environment. Vegetation can moderate these temperatures by intercepting incoming radiation. The influence of vegetation patterns on the magnitude of urban and micro-urban “heat islands” (UHI and MUHI, respectively) is compared for several cities including Houston, Austin, College Station, and Ft. Worth, Texas; Huntsville, Ala.; and Gainesville, Fla. Temperatures for all cities studied were greatest in the built-up areas and dropped off in suburban areas and adjacent rural areas. In Houston, surrounding rice fields were 3–5°C cooler than urban areas. Heavily built-up areas of Austin were 2–4°C warmer than parks and fields outside of the city. In all of the cities, large parks were typically 2–3°C cooler than adjacent built-up areas. Large shopping malls varied in nocturnal winter and summer temperature, with winter temperatures near door openings 2–3°C warmer, and summer daytime temperatures as much as 17°C cooler beneath trees. This effect seemed to persist at the microclimatic scale. Areas beneath evergreen trees and shrubs were warmer in the winter than surrounding grass covered areas. Video thermography indicated that the lower surfaces of limbs in deciduous trees were warmer than the upper surfaces. Overall, vegetation played a significant role, both at the local and microscale, in temperature moderation.

scholarly journals Features of the formation of urban heat islands effects in tropical climates and their impact on the ecology of the city

2019 ◽  
Vol 91 ◽  
pp. 05005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minh Tuan Le ◽  
Nguyen Anh Quan Tran
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Urban Climate ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Urban Heat Islands ◽  
Heat Islands ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
Tropical Climates ◽  
The City

The cumulative heating in some urban areas due to the urban growth and its types of industry, energy and transport, is the effect of urban heat island (UHI). It is recognized as one of the characteristics of the urban climate. The temperature increase caused by the effect (UHI) affects the energy flow in urban ecological systems, creates an unusual urban climate. By studying the effects of climate factors, local building materials to optimize energy efficiency, urban landscape, UHI phenomenon could be significantly moderated.

Building a new high-density air temperature measurement network in two Swiss cities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien G. Anet ◽  
Sebastian Schlögl ◽  
Curdin Spirig ◽  
Martin P. Frey ◽  
Manuel Renold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Measurement ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
High Density ◽  
Urban Heat Islands ◽  
Temperature Measurements ◽  
Heat Islands ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
The City

<p>With progressive climate change, weather extremes are very likely to become more frequent. While rural regions may suffer from more intense and longer drought periods, urban spaces are going to be particularly affected by severe heat waves. This urban temperature anomaly, also known as “urban heat island” (UHI), can be traced back to different factors, the most prominent being soil sealing, lower albedo and lack of effective ventilation.</p><p>City planners have started developing mitigation strategies to reduce future forecasted heat stress in urban regions. While some heat reduction strategies are currently intensely scrutinized and applied within pilot projects, the efficiency of latter mitigation actions can be overseen due to the low density of reference in situ air temperature measurements in urban environments. The same problem applies when trying to benchmark modeling studies of UHI as the amount of benchmarking data may be insufficient.</p><p>To overcome this lack of data, over the last two years, a dense air temperature measurement network has been installed in the Swiss cities of Basel and Zurich, counting more than 450 sensors. The low-cost air temperature sensors are installed on street lamps and traffic signs in different local climate zones of the city with an emphasis on street canyons, where air temperatures are expected to be the largest and most of the city’s population lives and works. These low-cost sensors add valuable meteorological information in cities and complement the WMO reference stations.</p><p>Air temperature measurements from the low-cost sensor network were controlled for accuracy, reliability and robustness and homogenized in order to minimize radiation errors, although 40% of the stations were equipped with self-built radiation shields, allowing an efficient passive ventilation of the installed sensors.</p><p>We demonstrate the strength of our network by presenting first results of two exemplary heat waves that occurred in July 2019 and August 2020 and show that a) the radiation-error corrected datasets correlate well with different high-quality reference WMO stations, and b) the existence of urban heat islands in Zurich and Basel can be well confirmed, showing significant air temperature differences of several degrees between rural and urban areas.</p><p>The results demonstrate the advantages of a high-density low-cost air temperature network as a benchmark for future urban heat islands modelling studies.</p>

scholarly journals Real-Time Thermal Mapping for Heat & Cool Archipelagos of Bengaluru, India

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-111
Author(s):  
Rajesh Gopinath ◽  
Aditya Banerjee ◽  
S. Sachin ◽  
Prakhar Tiwari ◽  
Sunny Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Urban Heat Islands ◽  
Subsequent Increase ◽  
Thermal Discomfort ◽  
Heat Islands ◽  
Human Thermal Comfort ◽  
The Past ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
The City

Abstract Blessed with a salubrious climate, the city of Bengaluru over the past few decades has constantly witnessed thermal discomfort owing to several Urban Heat islands that have mushroomed within the city. The subsequent increase in builtup area, consequent loss of productive agricultural lands/green zones, encroachment of surface water bodies coupled with the ill-preparedness of decision makers to handle the demand for land have invariably crumbled the natural micro-climate of the city. In this present research, an attempt has been made to detect the distribution of Urban Heat Islands in Bengaluru City by conducting real-time survey at 100 observatories marked across the entire urban & rural locations; with thermohygrometers as per the W.M.O. guidelines. The study confirmed the violation of the Human Thermal Comfort Range in 9, 83, 98, 99, 98 and 80 observatories for the monitoring at 6 AM, 9 AM, 12 PM, 3 PM, 6 PM and 9 PM respectively.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document