Urban heat island in a coastal urban area in northern Spain

This work examines the characteristics of the urban heat island (UHI) in a medium-sized city in northern Spain (Bilbao) using 5-year climate data (2005–2009) and the results of three specific measurement campaigns (2009–2010). Urban climate variables are not only compared with those in rural sites but also local climatic differences occurring inside the city are analysed. The findings presented in this paper show the influence of complex topography and sea/land breeze in the urban climate. Spatial characteristics and temporal evolution of UHI is presented. Hourly maximum temperature anomaly (ΔT _{u–r, max}) occurs just after sunrise and an urban cold island (UCI) is developed after midday. Along the year, mean UHI intensity is highest in autumn and the UCI effect increases in spring and summer in relation with sea breeze cooling potential. Diurnal and seasonal variation of air flow patterns appear to influence significantly on UHI intensity.     

Interactions of an urban heat island and sea-breeze circulations during winter over the metropolitan area of São Paulo,Brazil

The Town Energy Budget (TEB) model, a detailed urban parameterisation using a generalised canyon geometry, coupled with the Regional Atmospheric Modelling System (RAMS) is used to simulate the wintertime local circulation in the megacity environment of the metropolitan area of Sao Paulo (MASP) in Brazil. Model simulations are performed using actual topography and land-use fields. Comparison with a simple urban parameterisation based on the LEAF-2 scheme is also shown. Validation is based on comparison between model simulations and observations. Sensitivity tests with TEB reveal an important interaction between the sea breeze and the MASP heat island circulation. Even though topography is known to play an important role in the MASP region’s weather, in these tests the simulations were performed without topography in order to unambiguously identify the interaction between the two local circulations. The urban heat island (UHI) forms a strong convergence zone in the centre of the city and thereby accelerates the sea-breeze front toward the centre of the city. The presence of the urban region increases the sea-breeze front propagation mean speed by about 0.32 m s⁻¹ when compared with the situation of no city. After its arrival in the urban region, the sea-breeze front stalls over the centre of the city for about 2 h. Subsequently, the sea breeze progresses beyond the city when the heat island dissipates. Thereafter, the sea breeze propagates beyond the urban area at a decelerated rate compared to a simulation without an UHI.     

Urban heat island investigations in Arctic cities of northwestern Russia

Urban microclimate peculiarities in two Arctic cities in northwestern Russia—Kirovsk (67.62°N, 33.67°E) and Apatity (67.57°N, 33.38°E)—were investigated by using mobile temperature records. The experiment was carried out in and around Apatity and Kirovsk in February 2014 and December 2016. The DS18B20 digital thermometer was installed on the roof of a car (height: approximately 1.2 m) to measure and record temperature variations automatically. In addition to the digital thermometer, the car was also equipped with an onboard global positioning system, allowing every temperature measurement to be referenced with an altitude and a latitude/longitude position. The possibility of urban heat island formation in these polar cities, above the Arctic Circle, was studied. Our analysis indicated that on 11 February 2014, the temperature varied in accordance with the background environmental lapse rate (–0.0045°C m^–1), and nearly corresponded to it (–0.0165°C m^–1) on 12 February 2014. On 6 December 2016, a strong local temperature inversion with a positive value of 0.032°C m^–1 was detected, seemingly caused by the formation of a cold air pool in the valley near Kirovsk. It was found that the temperature variations within and outside these cities are strongly influenced by local topographic effects and the physical conditions of the atmospheric boundary layer.     

不同天气条件下沈阳城市热岛特征

利用1992—2008年沈阳站和新城子站逐日4个时次的平均气温、平均风速、降水量、云量和能见度资料,对不同天气条件下沈阳的城市热岛效应进行研究。结果表明：除雾和浓雾天气条件下,沈阳城市热岛强度在08时最弱外,其他天气条件下均表现为20时最强,14时最弱;不同天气条件下,夜间城市热岛强度均高于白天;晴朗无风条件下昼夜城市热岛强度差最大,为0.73℃。四季相比,除雾条件下秋季城市热岛强度最强外,其他天气条件下均为冬季最强;除大雨条件下春季城市热岛强度最弱外,其他条件下均为夏季最弱。沈阳城市热岛强度随降水量的增加而减弱,随能见度的降低而减弱,随着风速的增加而减弱。白天和夜间两个时次的差值表现为,1～3级风夜间变化幅度大于白天,0级和4～5级风速有相反规律,其他天气条件下无明显规律。     

Evaluation of methods of spatial interpolation for monthly rainfall data over the state of Rio de Janeiro,Brazil

Five deterministic methods of spatial interpolation of monthly rainfall were compared over the state of Rio de Janeiro, southeast Brazil. The methods were the inverse distance weight (IDW), nearest neighbor (NRN), triangulation with linear interpolation (TLI), natural neighbor (NN), and spline tension (SPT). A set of 110 weather stations was used to test the methods. The selection of stations had two criteria: time series longer than 20 years and period of data from 1960 to 2009. The methods were evaluated using cross-validation, linear regression between values observed and interpolated, root mean square error (RMSE), coefficient of determination (r ²), coefficient of variation (CV, %), and the Willmott index of agreement (d). The results from different methods are influenced by the meteorological systems and their seasonality, as well as by the interaction with the topography. The methods presented higher precision (r ²) and accuracy (d, RMSE) during the summer and transition to autumn, in comparison with the winter or spring months. The SPT had the highest precision and accuracy in relation to other methods, in addition to having a good representation of the spatial patterns expected for rainfall over the complex terrain of the state and its high spatial variability.     

Diagnostic analysis of future climate scenarios applied to urban flooding in the Chicago metropolitan area

Past heavy precipitation events in the Chicago metropolitan area have caused significant flood-related economic and environmental damages. A key component in flood management policies and actions is determining flood magnitudes for specified return periods. This is a particularly difficult task in areas with a complex and changing climate and land-use, such as the Chicago metropolitan area. The standard design storm methodology based on the NOAA Atlas 14 and ISWS Bulletin 70 has been used in the past to estimate flood hydrographs with variable return periods in this region. In a changing climate, however, these publications may not be accurate. This study presents and illustrates a methodology for diagnostic analysis of future climate scenarios in the framework of urban flooding, and assesses the corresponding uncertainties. First, the design storms are calculated using data downscaled by a regional climate model (RCM) at 30-km spacing for the present and 2050s under the IPCC A1Fi (high) and B1 (low) emissions scenarios. Next, the corresponding flood discharges at six watersheds in suburban Chicago are estimated using a hydrologic event model. The resulting scenarios in flood frequency were first assessed through a set of diagnostic tests for precipitation timing and frequency. The study did not reveal any significant changes in the 2050s in the average timing of heavy storms, but their regularity decreased. The average timing did not exhibit any significant spatial variability throughout the region. The precipitation frequency analysis revealed distinct differences between the northern and southeastern subregions of the Chicago metropolitan area. The quantiles in the northern subregion averaged for 2-year, 5-year, and 10-year return periods exhibited a 20% and 16% increase in daily precipitation for scenarios B1 and A1Fi, respectively. The southeastern subregion, however, exhibited a decrease of 12% for scenario B1 and a minor increase of 3% for scenario A1Fi. The hydrologic effects of changing precipitation on the flood quantiles were illustrated using six small watersheds in the region. The relative increases or decreases in precipitation translated into even larger relative increases or decreases in flood peaks, due to the nonlinear nature of the rainfall-runoff process. Simulations using multiple climate models, for longer periods, finer spatio-temporal resolution, and larger areal coverage could be used to more accurately account for numerous uncertainties in the precipitation and flood projections.     

Quantification of the urban heat island under a changing climate over Anatolian Peninsula

The Anatolian Peninsula is located at the confluence of Europe, Asia, and Africa and houses 81 cities of which 79 of them have population over 100,000. We employed some criteria to select the cities from the 81 cities. After accomplishing all the criteria, eight cities were remaining for the study. Nonparametric Mann–Kendall test procedure was employed for the urban and rural stations of these cities to detect the long-term change in temperature trends. Statistical analysis of daily minimum temperatures for the period between 1965 and 2006 suggest that there is no statistically significant increase in rural areas. In contrast to the findings of the previous studies, however, all the urban sites and difference between urban and rural pairs show significant increase in temperatures, a strong indication for the existence of urban heat island (UHI) affect over the region. Regional Climate Model was also utilized to assess the changes in temperature by the end of century for the region. The findings suggest that an increase of up to 5°C is possible. Climate change effects enforced with UHI have the potential to cause serious problems for the entire region and hence needs to be studied thoroughly.     

Spatiotemporal analysis of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide concentrations over the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Time series of pollutants and weather variables measured at four sites in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between 2002 and 2004, were used to characterize temporal and spatial relationships of air pollution. Concentrations of particulate matter (PM₁₀), sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and carbon monoxide (CO) were compared to national and international standards. The annual median concentration of PM₁₀ was higher than the standard set by the World Health Organization (WHO) on all sites and the 24?h means exceeded the standards on several occasions on two sites. SO₂ and CO did not exceed the limits, but the daily maximum of CO in one of the stations was 27% higher on weekends compared to weekdays, due to increased activity in a nearby Convention Center. Air temperature and vapor pressure deficit have both presented the highest correlations with pollutant??s concentrations. The concentrations of SO₂ and CO were not correlated between sites, suggesting that local sources are more important to those pollutants compared to PM₁₀. The time series of pollutants and air temperature were decomposed in time and frequency by wavelet analysis. The results revealed that the common variability of air temperature and PM₁₀ is dominated by temporal scales of 1?C8?days, time scales that are associated with the passage of weather events, such as cold fronts.     

Urban heat island and differences in outdoor comfort levels in Glasgow, UK

From extensive outdoor comfort campaigns, preliminary outdoor comfort ranges have been defined for the local population of Glasgow, UK, in terms of two thermal indices: ‘Temperature Humidity Sun Wind’ (THSW) and ‘Physiological Equivalent Temperature’ (PET). A series of measurements and surveys was carried out from winter through summer 2011 during 19 monitoring campaigns. For data collection, a Davis Vantage Pro2 weather station was used, which was equipped with temperature and humidity sensors, cup anemometer with wind vane, silicon pyranometer and globe thermometer. From concurrent measurements using two weather stations, one located close to the city core and another located at a rural setting, approximately at a 15-km distance from the urban area of Glasgow, comparisons were made with regard to thermal comfort levels and to urban–rural temperature differences for different periods of the year. It was found that the two selected thermal indices (THSW and PET) closely correlate to the actual thermal sensation of respondents. Moreover, results show that the urban site will have fewer days of cold discomfort, more days of ‘neutral’ thermal sensation and slightly higher warm discomfort. The most frequent urban heat island intensity was found to be around 3° C, whereas the fraction of cooling to heating degree-hours for a T _base of 65 °F was approximately 1/12th.     

上海地区高温过程中局地气候区尺度城市热岛特征分析

本文以超大城市上海为研究对象,选取2017年7月为夏季代表月,利用自动气象站网观测得到的逐小时气温和风速数据,基于局地气候分区方法分析了上海市各局地气候区(Local Climate Zone,LCZ)在不同天气条件下的气温和城市热岛强度(Urban Heat Island Intensity,UHII)时空特征及其成因。结果表明:由于城市几何形态、建筑材料、表面不透水面占比以及人类活动的不同,上海市夏季典型月各LCZ的气温和UHII表现出明显差异,在高温日,UHII日变化曲线可以分为"W "型、浅" U"型、"V"型、日间型和平稳型这五类。城市建筑形态对城市风、热环境具有较为复杂的影响,UHII与天空可视因子(Sky View Factor,SVF)的相关系数在00时(北京时,下同)为负,而在12、16时为正,这是由于建筑物对城市冠层内的辐射传输的影响和建筑物的热量储存导致的;城乡风速之比与SVF在00、12和16时都为正相关,说明了高大密集的建筑物对风速有衰减作用,同时风速通过影响大气的平流输送进一步影响UHII。     

ENSO事件对川西高原区的气候影响

根据1951-2010年川西高原区7个气象站降水资料和气温资料以及60 a间发生的厄尔尼诺(El Ni?o)/拉尼娜(La Ni?a)事件,分析降水量、气温与El Ni?o /La Ni?a事件之间的关系,研究El Ni?o/La Ni?a事件对川西高原区气候的影响。结果表明：1951年以来川西高原区年降水量变化不大,呈现微弱的增加趋势,El Ni?o/La Ni?a 事件的发生对川西高原区年平均降水量有影响,El Ni?o事件影响下的年平均降水量减少,La Ni?a事件影响下的年平均降水量增加;El Ni?o年降水量低于正常年降水量39.14 mm,拉尼娜年降水量高于正常年降水量22.56 mm。1951年以来川西高原区年平均气温呈现微弱的波动上升趋势,川西高原区年平均气温与ENSO事件等级之间的相关性不显著。     

Determination of places in the great Athens area where the heat island effect is observed

Summary The major Athens area is surrounded by high mountains to the north and the east and is influenced by the sea (Saronic Gulf) to the south. As a result of its topography, the city experiences significant variations in its ventilation patterns even over small distances. The main purpose of the present study is to define places in the major Athens area where the heat island effect occurs. Several important climatic parameters are examined in combination with the application of various statistical tests. From this research it is mainly observed that the central and western industrialized parts of the city of Athens develop the “urban” heat island effect intensely. Nevertheless, district variations as regards the heat island intensity can be found in some regions, located close to the city centre and eastward of it, characterized by thick vegetation of trees or by “open areas”. Moreover, in places near the sea the air temperatures are higher in the cold period of the year, not because of the urbanization but mainly due to the influence of the sea, which favors the maintenance of high air temperatures. Last but not least, the persistence of high air temperatures during the hot period of the year or low air temperatures in the cold period is mostly related to the synoptic weather conditions and it cannot reasonably be considered as an index for the heat island effect development. Received June 1, 2000 Revised August 6, 2001     

不同气象条件下济宁城市热岛效应的变化特征

利用1981—2013年济宁、兖州、嘉祥、汶上站逐日4个时次的平均气温、平均风速、降水量、云量和能见度资料,对不同天气条件下济宁市的城市热岛效应进行研究.结果表明:济宁城市热岛效应具有明显的月季变化特征和日变化特征,具体为冬半年明显高于夏半年,白天的热岛强度明显低于夜间,中午前后最弱;济宁市四季热岛强度的变化规律是冬季最强,夏季最弱,春秋居中,除秋季外均呈现缓慢上升趋势.在不同气象条件下,济宁城市热岛强度也存在很大差异,其中在晴朗无风气象条件下表现最为突出,平均值达到0.79 ℃,其昼夜变化幅度也最大;在降雨时城市热岛强度最小,平均仅有0.09 ℃,其昼夜变化幅度也最小;大于等于4.0 m/s大风天气和雾均多发生在秋冬季,且雾对城市热岛的形成和昼夜变化影响明显大于风对城市热岛的影响;在晴朗无风和大雾条件下,02时热岛强度最强,当有降水出现时,20时热岛强度最强,出现大风天气时,08时热岛强度最强,所有研究天气条件下,14时热岛强度均表现为最弱.     

Urban heat island effect on annual mean temperature during the last 50 years in China

Summary Based on Chinas fifth population survey (2000) data and homogenized annual mean surface air temperature data, the urban heat island (UHI) effect on the warming during the last 50 years in China was analyzed in this study. In most cities with population over 10⁴, where there are national reference stations and principal stations, most of the temperature series are inevitably affected by the UHI effect. To detect the UHI effect, the annual mean surface air temperature (SAT) time series were firstly classified into 5 subregions by using Rotated Principal Components Analysis (RPCA) according to its high and low frequency climatic change features. Then the average UHI effect on each subregions regional annual mean STA was studied. Results indicate that the UHI effect on the annual mean temperatures includes three aspects: increase of the average values, decrease of variances and change of the climatic trends. The effect on the climatic trends is different from region to region. In the Yangtze River Valley and South China, the UHI effect enhances the warming trends by about 0.011°C/decade. In the other areas, such as Northeast, North-China, and Northwest, UHI has little impact on the warming trends of the regional annual temperature; while in the Southwest of China, introducing UHI stations slows down the warming trend by –0.006°C/decade. But no matter what subregion it is, the total warming/cooling of these effects is much smaller than the background change in regional temperature. The average UHI effect for the entire country, during the last 50 years is less than 0.06°C, which agrees well with the IPCC (2001). This suggests that we cannot conclude that urbanization during the last 50 years has had much obvious effect on the observed warming in China.     

Staying cool in a changing climate: Reaching vulnerable populations during heat events

The frequency and intensity of hot weather events are expected to increase globally, threatening human health, especially among the elderly, poor, and chronically ill. Current literature indicates that emergency preparedness plans, heat health warning systems, and related interventions may not be reaching or supporting behavior change among those most vulnerable in heat events. Using a qualitative multiple case study design, we comprehensively examined practices of these populations to stay cool during hot weather (“cooling behaviors”) in four U.S. cities with documented racial/ethnic and socio-economic disparities and diverse heat preparedness strategies: Phoenix, Arizona; Detroit, Michigan; New York City, New York; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Based on semi-structured in-depth interviews we conducted with 173 community members and organizational leaders during 2009–2010, we assessed why vulnerable populations do or do not participate in health-promoting behaviors at home or in their community during heat events, inquiring about perceptions of heat-related threats and vulnerability and the role of social support. While vulnerable populations often recognize heat's potential health threats, many overlook or disassociate from risk factors or rely on experiences living in or visiting warmer climates as a protective factor. Many adopt basic cooling behaviors, but unknowingly harmful behaviors such as improper use of fans and heating and cooling systems are also adopted. Decision-making related to commonly promoted behaviors such as air conditioner use and cooling center attendance is complex, and these resources are often inaccessible financially, physically, or culturally. Interviewees expressed how interpersonal, intergenerational relationships are generally but not always protective, where peer relationships are a valuable mechanism for facilitating cooling behaviors among the elderly during heat events. To prevent disparities in heat morbidity and mortality in an increasingly changing climate, we note the implications of local context, and we broadly inform heat preparedness plans, interventions, and messages by sharing the perspectives and words of community members representing vulnerable populations and leaders who work most closely with them.     

Urban heat island and its effect on the cooling and heating demands in urban and suburban areas of Hong Kong

This study investigates the urban heat island characteristics of four major areas of Hong Kong. The areas of study include a densely populated and well-developed commercial area (i.e., Tsim Sha Tsui) and three suburban areas (i.e., Cheung Chau, Lau Fau Shan and Sha Tin) with differing degrees of development. The weather station data of respective areas were acquired from the Hong Kong Observatory. The urban heat island intensity, determined as the air-temperature difference between the selected urban/suburban area and the reference rural area (i.e., Ta Kuw Ling) with thin population and lush vegetation, was used for the analysis. Results showed stronger heat island effect during winter and nighttime than during summer and daytime. An investigation of the cooling and heating degree days indicate that all areas have observed higher number of cooling degree days. However, the cooling degree days were the maximum while heating degree days were the minimum in the urban area (i.e., Tsim Sha Tsui). Clearly, the minimum heating degree days and the maximum cooling degree days in the urban area were a direct consequence of urban heat island. The 10-year (i.e., from 1995 to 2005) average shows that Cheung Chau experienced the least number of cooling degree days while Lau Fau Shan experienced the highest number of heating degree days. Seemingly, the area of Cheung Chau offers better thermal comfort conditions with the minimum number of cooling and heating degree days.     

南京地区太阳能屋顶缓解夏季高温的模拟研究

太阳能屋顶的安装预计能在一定程度上缓解城市化带来的能源危机及对城市热环境的破坏。利用耦合了城市单层冠层方案（UCM）的WRF模式,以南京2010年7月27日至8月5日夏季晴天微风天气为背景,模拟了不同发电效率的太阳能屋顶的安装对城市高温的缓解效应。结果表明:（1）太阳能屋顶可以通过削弱到达城市表面的太阳辐射使城市2 m高气温降低,随着发电效率的提高,降温效果更明显,且白天降温效果明显优于夜间;白天2 m高气温最大降低0.4-1.3℃,夜间降低0.2-0.5℃。（2）太阳能屋顶可使边界层内气温降低,白天在边界层400 m以下降温显著,夜间在边界层高度200 m以下降温显著;白天边界层内最大降温出现在中午前后,降温0.1-0.8℃,夜间边界层内最大降温0.5℃。（3）发电效率为40%时,模拟期间的发电量为18.1×109 kW·h。