scholarly journals The mechanisms and seasonal differences of the impact of aerosols on daytime surface urban heat island effect

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 6479-6493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenchao Han ◽  
Zhanqing Li ◽  
Fang Wu ◽  
Yuwei Zhang ◽  
Jianping Guo ◽  
...  

Abstract. The urban heat island intensity (UHII) is the temperature difference between urban areas and their rural surroundings. It is commonly attributed to changes in the underlying surface structure caused by urbanization. Air pollution caused by aerosol particles can affect the UHII through changing (1) the surface energy balance by the aerosol radiative effect (ARE) and (2) planetary-boundary-layer (PBL) stability and airflow intensity by modifying thermodynamic structure, which is referred to as the aerosol dynamic effect (ADE). By analyzing satellite data and ground-based observations collected from 2001 to 2010 at 35 cities in China and using the WRF-Chem model, we find that the impact of aerosols on UHII differs considerably: reducing the UHII in summer but increasing the UHII in winter. This seasonal contrast is proposed to be caused by the different strengths of the ARE and ADE between summer and winter. In summer, the ARE on UHII is dominant over the ADE, cooling down surface temperature more strongly in urban areas than in rural areas because of much higher aerosol loading, and offsets the urban heating, therefore weakening UHII. In winter, however, the ADE is more dominant, because aerosols stabilize the PBL more in the polluted condition, weakening the near-surface heat transport over urban areas in both vertical and horizontal directions. This means that the heat accumulated in urban areas is dispersed less effectively, and thus the UHII is enhanced. These findings shed new light on the impact of the interaction between urbanization-induced surface changes and air pollution on urban climate.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenchao Han ◽  
Zhanqing Li ◽  
Fang Wu ◽  
Yuwei Zhang ◽  
Jianping Guo ◽  
...  

Abstract. The urban heat island intensity (UHII) is the temperature difference between urban areas and their rural surroundings. It is commonly attributed to changes in the underlying surface structure caused by urbanization. Air pollution caused by aerosol particles can affect the UHII by changing the surface energy balance and atmospheric thermodynamic structure. By analyzing satellite data and ground-based observations collected from 2001 to 2010 at 35 cities in China and using the WRF-Chem model, we found that aerosols have very different effects on daytime UHII in different seasons: reducing the UHII in summer, but increasing the UHII in winter. The seasonal contrast in the spatial distribution of aerosols between the urban centers and the suburbs lead to a spatial discrepancy in aerosol radiative effect (SD-ARE). Additionally, different stability of the planetary boundary layer induced by aerosol is closely associated with a dynamic effect (DE) on the UHII. SD-ARE reduces the amount of radiation reaching the ground and changes the vertical temperature gradient, whereas DE increases the stability of the planetary boundary layer and weakens heat release and exchange between the surface and the PBL. Both effects exist under polluted conditions, but their relative roles are opposite between the two seasons. It is the joint effects of the SD-ARE and the DE that drive the UHII to behave differently in different seasons, which is confirmed by model simulations. In summer, the UHII is mainly affected by the SD-ARE, and the DE is weak, and the opposite is the case in winter. This finding sheds a new light on the impact of the interaction between urbanization-induced surface changes and air pollution on urban climate.


2013 ◽  
Vol 52 (9) ◽  
pp. 2051-2064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Li ◽  
Elie Bou-Zeid

AbstractCities 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 cities will be even higher than the sum of the background urban heat island effect and the heat wave effect. Results presented here also attribute this added impact of heat waves on urban areas to the lack of surface moisture in urban areas and the low wind speed associated with heat waves. Given that heat waves are projected to become more frequent and that urban populations are substantially increasing, these findings underline the serious heat-related health risks facing urban residents in the twenty-first century. Adaptation and mitigation strategies will require joint efforts to reinvent the city, allowing for more green spaces and lesser disruption of the natural water cycle.


Author(s):  
Van Tran Thi ◽  
Bao Ha Duong Xuan ◽  
Mai Nguyen Thi Tuyet

In urban area, one of the great problem is the rise of temperature, which leads to form the urban heat island effect. This paper refers to the trend of the urban surface temperature extracted from the Landsat images from which to consider changes in the formation of surface urban heat island for the north of Ho Chi Minh city in period 1995-2015. Research has identified land surface temperature from thermal infrared band, according to the ability of the surface emission based on characteristics of normalized difference vegetation index NDVI. The results showed that temperature fluctuated over the city with a growing trend and the gradual expansion of the area of the high-temperature zone towards the suburbs. Within 20 years, the trend of the formation of surface urban heat island with two typical locations showed a clear difference between the surface temperature of urban areas and rural areas with space expansion of heat island in 4 times in 2015 compared to 1995. An extreme heat island located in the inner city has an area of approximately 18% compared to the total area of the region. Since then, the solution to reduce the impact of urban heat island has been proposed, in order to protect the urban environment and the lives of residents in Ho Chi Minh City becoming better


CivilEng ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 459-484
Author(s):  
Svetlana Vujovic ◽  
Bechara Haddad ◽  
Hamzé Karaky ◽  
Nassim Sebaibi ◽  
Mohamed Boutouil

Economic and social development of urban and rural areas continues in parallel with the increase of the human population, especially in developing countries, which leads to sustained expansion of impervious surface areas, particularly paved surfaces. The conversion of pervious surfaces to impervious surfaces significantly modifies local energy balance in urban areas and contributes to urban heat island (UHI) formation, mainly in densely developed cities. This paper represents a literature review on the causes and consequences of the UHI and potential measures that could be adopted to improve the urban microclimate. The primary focus is to discuss and summarise significant findings on the UHI phenomenon and its consequences, such as the impact on human thermal comfort and health, energy consumption, air pollution, and surface water quality deterioration. Regarding the measures to mitigate UHI, particular emphasis is given to the reflective and permeable pavements.


Author(s):  
Alberto Previati ◽  
Giovanni B. Crosta

AbstractUrban areas are major contributors to the alteration of the local atmospheric and groundwater environment. The impact of such changes on the groundwater thermal regime is documented worldwide by elevated groundwater temperature in city centers with respect to the surrounding rural areas. This study investigates the subsurface urban heat island (SUHI) in the aquifers beneath the Milan city area in northern Italy, and assesses the natural and anthropogenic controls on groundwater temperatures within the urban area by analyzing groundwater head and temperature records acquired in the 2016–2020 period. This analysis demonstrates the occurrence of a SUHI with up to 3 °C intensity and reveals a correlation between the density of building/subsurface infrastructures and the mean annual groundwater temperature. Vertical heat fluxes to the aquifer are strongly related to the depth of the groundwater and the density of surface structures and infrastructures. The heat accumulation in the subsurface is reflected by a constant groundwater warming trend between +0.1 and + 0.4 °C/year that leads to a gain of 25 MJ/m2 of thermal energy per year in the shallow aquifer inside the SUHI area. Future monitoring of groundwater temperatures, combined with numerical modeling of coupled groundwater flow and heat transport, will be essential to reveal what this trend is controlled by and to make predictions on the lateral and vertical extent of the groundwater SUHI in the study area.


2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey B. Basara ◽  
Heather G. Basara ◽  
Bradley G. Illston ◽  
Kenneth C. Crawford

During late July and early August 2008, an intense heat wave occurred in Oklahoma City. To quantify the impact of the urban heat island (UHI) in Oklahoma City on observed and apparent temperature conditions during the heat wave event, this study used observations from 46 locations in and around Oklahoma City. The methodology utilized composite values of atmospheric conditions for three primary categories defined by population and general land use: rural, suburban, and urban. The results of the analyses demonstrated that a consistent UHI existed during the study period whereby the composite temperature values within the urban core were approximately C warmer during the day than the rural areas and over C warmer at night. Further, when the warmer temperatures were combined with ambient humidity conditions, the composite values consistently revealed even warmer heat-related variables within the urban environment as compared with the rural zone.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
Qian Sun ◽  
Grace Yun ◽  
Ting Ling

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> The impact of heat on health can be more significant in urban areas with more population and where the microclimate is often unintentionally modified to create the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. Extreme heat and UHI pose a risk to the health of vulnerable individuals, such as the elderly, the very young, and those need care. Vulnerability has become a central concept in climate change research and policy. To assess it, many studies have used equal weighted cumulative indices to aggregate multiple factors into a composite HVI (Heat Vulnerability Index) and analyse the differences and intensity across local areas and regions. However, the aggregation and equal weighting rationality, and the disregard of spatial correlation can result in inaccurate explanation on local vulnerabilities.</p><p>This study develops an enhanced index of population heat vulnerability (HVI) in Perth metropolitan area, Western Australia (WA), using environmental, demographic, and health-related risk factors for heat exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capability. Satellite derived urban heat island data and community profiles were integrated by a spatial risk assessment methodology to highlight potential heat health risk areas and build the foundations for mitigation and adaptation plans. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify the key risk factors for heat vulnerability. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) were used to model the spatial relationships between temperature and other contributing factors to produce weights for calculating HVI. The index was finally mapped to produce a spatial representation of risk. The maps of spatial heat health vulnerability provide information to target heat-related health risks by aiding policy advisors, healthcare professionals, and ancillary services to develop heatwave preparedness plans at a local scale.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Elhacham ◽  
Pinhas Alpert

&lt;p&gt;Over a billion people currently live in coastal areas, and coastal urbanization is rapidly growing worldwide. Here, we explore the impact of an extreme and rapid coastal urbanization on near-surface climatic variables, based on MODIS data, Landsat and some in-situ observations. We study Dubai, one of the fastest growing cities in the world over the last two decades. Dubai's urbanization centers along its coastline &amp;#8211; in land, massive skyscrapers and infrastructure have been built, while in sea, just nearby, unique artificial islands have been constructed.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Studying the coastline during the years of intense urbanization (2001-2014), we show that the coastline exhibits surface urban heat island characteristics, where the urban center experiences higher temperatures, by as much as 2.0&amp;#176;C and more, compared to the adjacent less urbanized zones. During development, the coastal surface urban heat island has nearly doubled its size, expanding towards the newly developed areas. This newly developed zone also exhibited the largest temperature trend along the coast, exceeding 0.1&amp;#176;C/year on average.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Overall, we found that over land, temperature increases go along with albedo decreases, while in sea, surface temperature decreases and albedo increases were observed particularly over the artificial islands. These trends in land and sea temperatures affect the land-sea temperature gradient which influences the breeze intensity. The above findings, along with the increasing relative humidity shown, directly affect the local population and ecosystem and add additional burden to this area, which is already considered as one of the warmest in the world and a climate change 'hot spot'.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;References:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;E. Elhacham and P. Alpert, &quot;Impact of coastline-intensive anthropogenic activities on the atmosphere from moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) data in Dubai (2001&amp;#8211;2014)&quot;, &lt;em&gt;Earth&amp;#8217;s Future&lt;/em&gt;, 4, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015EF000325&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;E. Elhacham and P. Alpert, &quot;Temperature patterns along an arid coastline experiencing extreme and rapid urbanization, case study: Dubai&quot;, submitted.&lt;/p&gt;


2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 47-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hana Středová ◽  
Tomáš Středa ◽  
Tomáš Litschmann

Abstract Air temperature and humidity conditions were monitored in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic, by a network of meteorological stations. Meteorological sensors were placed across a representative variety of urban and suburban environments. The data collected over the 2011–2014 period are analysed in this paper. The data from reference standard meteorological stations were used for comparison and modelling purposes. Air temperatures at the points of interest were successfully modelled using regression relationships. The spatial expression of point measurements of air temperatures was provided by GIS methods in combination with CORINE land cover layer, and satellite thermal images were used to evaluate the significance of these methods. The use of standard climate information has low priority for urban planners. The impact of the urban heat island on city residents and visitors was evaluated using the HUMIDEX index, as it is more understandable for urban planners than temperature conditions as such. The aim of this paper is the modification, description and presentation of urban climate evaluation methods that are easily useable for spatial planning purposes. These methods are based on comprehensible, easily available but quality data and results. This unified methodology forms a theoretical basis for better urban planning policies to mitigate the urban heat island effects.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Keat ◽  
Elizabeth J. Kendon ◽  
Sylvia I. Bohnenstengel

AbstractIncreasing summer temperatures in a warming climate will increase the exposure of the UK population to heat-stress and associated heat-related mortality. Urban inhabitants are particularly at risk, as urban areas are often significantly warmer than rural areas as a result of the urban heat island phenomenon. The latest UK Climate Projections include an ensemble of convection-permitting model (CPM) simulations which provide credible climate information at the city-scale, the first of their kind for national climate scenarios. Using a newly developed urban signal extraction technique, we quantify the urban influence on present-day (1981–2000) and future (2061–2080) temperature extremes in the CPM compared to the coarser resolution regional climate model (RCM) simulations over UK cities. We find that the urban influence in these models is markedly different, with the magnitude of night-time urban heat islands overestimated in the RCM, significantly for the warmest nights (up to $$4~^{\circ }$$ 4 ∘ C), while the CPM agrees much better with observations. This improvement is driven by the improved land-surface representation and more sophisticated urban scheme MORUSES employed by the CPM, which distinguishes street canyons and roofs. In future, there is a strong amplification of the urban influence in the RCM, whilst there is little change in the CPM. We find that future changes in soil moisture play an important role in the magnitude of the urban influence, highlighting the importance of the accurate representation of land-surface and hydrological processes for urban heat island studies. The results indicate that the CPM provides more reliable urban temperature projections, due at least in part to the improved urban scheme.


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