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Urban Heat Islands

Chapter · November 2018

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 179 OUR C HANGING PLANET

D A L E A. Q UAT T RO C H I
Urban Heat Islands
M AU R I C E G. E S T E S , J R .
C H A R L E S A. L AY M ON
W I L L I A M C RO S S ON
B U RG E S S F. H OW E L L
J E F F R E Y C. LU VA L L
D O U G LA S L. R I C K M A N In the early 1800s, the eminent British scholar, Luke Howard, recognized that
the urban center of London, England, was considerably warmer than the surround-
ing countryside. As urban areas across the world have grown into ‘mega cities’ —
cities with populations of 10 million inhabitants or more — the temperature differ-
ences between urban areas and their rural counterparts have increased accordingly.
This phenomenon has come to be known as the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect,
whereby surfaces typical of the city landscape, such as pavement, rooftops, or other
‘non-natural’ land covers, absorb solar radiation throughout the day and store it as
heat energy. Typically, about two to three hours after sunset on clear nights, this
stored heat energy is released into the lower atmosphere, forming a ‘heat bubble ’
over the city. This dome of elevated surface temperatures that presides over the city,
or the UHI, is typically 1-3°C (2-5°F) above the air temperatures over adjacent
rural areas. Even more so, there can be a significant daytime heat island effect, par-
ticularly during spells of hot temperatures and clear days during summertime.
Why is the study of the UHI important? After all, this phenomenon has been
known since the early 1800s; why worry about it now? One of the main reasons
why studying the UHI is important is because of the projections by the United
Nations that by 2025, 60 % or more of the world’s population will live in cities. As
urban areas become more populated, they have a major effect on the local, regional,
and perhaps even the global environment. A particular consequence of urbanization
is the deterioration of air quality over cities. The UHI has a significant impact on
air quality by increasing the amount of ground-level ozone (O3) over cities.
However helpful ozone is high in the atmosphere, ozone at the ground level is a
harmful air pollutant. We are unable to see it, spell it, or taste it; yet it has a serious
impact on the human respiratory system. Ground-level ozone is formed by the

Sketch of factors involved in urban remote

°F °C
sensing and air quality models.
92 33

32

31

30
85

Sketch of an urban heat island profile for Rural Suburban Commercial Downtown Urban Park Suburban Rural
late afternoon temperature. Residential Residential Farmland
 180 OUR C HANGING PLANET

interaction of two photochemical constituents in the pres-

ence of intense solar radiation: Volatile Organic
Compounds (VOCs) and Nitrogen Oxides (NOx). VOCs
are produced by anthropogenic sources such as solvents,
cleaners, and paints and by natural vegetation sources (the
latter resulting in biogenic VOCs). NOx are air pollutants
produced from automobiles, smokestacks, and other point-
source emissions. The catalyst that drives the production
of O3 out of this chemical ‘soup’ is sunlight, particularly
during long, hot summer days. The UHI may be consid-
ered an additive background source of heat that enhances
the production of O3, given that daytime temperatures
over cities can be 3-5°C (5-10°F) or more higher than
those over surrounding non-urbanized areas. This makes
Sample weather satellite image of Atlanta, Georgia, for 10:30 p.m. the UHI an important factor to study as cities around the
local time, May 6, 1997. The built up area of Atlanta has tempera- world continue to grow and expand, both in population
tures in the rang of 57-59°F (31.5-32°C), while adjacent rural areas and in areal extent.
have temperatures of about 53°F (29°C). (Source: ???)
Although Luke Howard used a ground-based ther-
mometer in measuring the air temperature differences
between the city and the countryside, the UHI can be read-
ily determined from satellite observations, as illustrated in

Two Landsat
views of
Atlanta, [ADD
DATE]. Top
image: Heat ris-
ing from the
surface, as
determined
from thermal
infrared satellite
data. Bottom
image: The
urban extent of
the city, shown
in gray. (Source:
Landsat ???)
 181 OUR C HANGING PLANET

the sample weather satellite image of Atlanta. We can also readily observe from
satellites the relationship between the extent of urbanized areas and the elevated
surface temperatures caused by the overall landscape characteristics of the city, as
illustrated in the layered pair of Landsat images. Moreover, we can use thermal
infrared (TIR) data from NASA aircraft to derive a very detailed depiction of
“what’s hot and what’s not” across the urban surface, as illustrated. These kinds of
high resolution data are very useful for illustrating to urban planners, government
officials, local decision-makers, and the general public, how warm non-natural sur-
faces are across the urban landscape and how the heat emanating from these sur-
faces drives the development of the UHI. Additionally, these data are illustrative for
showing where “Cool Community Strategies” can be useful for diminishing or miti-
gating the UHI. For example, trees can be planted in ‘hot spots’ in the downtown
Color-coded thermal infrared aircraft data collected
over Atlanta during the daytime at a very fine scale
area to help cool the city surface.
resolution. In this image, the Atlanta Central Another factor that contributes to the development of the UHI is the reflec-
Business District is very warm, as are roadways and tivity or ‘albedo’ of the surfaces in the city. Albedo is a measure of reflectivity that
other surfaces typical of cities, in contrast to resi- ranges from 0 to 1, with 0 for a surface that reflects no solar radiation (e.g., a black
dential areas adjacent to the downtown area.
surface) and 1 for a surface that reflects all solar radiation. Surfaces that have low
(Source: NASA aircraft data.)
albedos become very hot under the presence of intense solar radiation and are direct
contributors to the development of the UHI. We can use remote sensing data to
observe and measure albedos and surface temperatures across the urban landscape
for better understanding the causes of the UHI, as well as to illustrate ways poten-
tially to mitigate its overall magnitude and impact on the urban environment.

High resolution color-coded image of albedos in

and around Atlanta, from aircraft data. The Central
Business District overall has a very low albedo,
because of the low reflectivities of rooftops made of
tar or other dark-color materials and dark asphalt-
covered roadways.

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