Intensity and form of the urban heat island in barcelona (original) (raw)
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Statistical analysis of the Madrid urban heat island
Atmospheric Environment. Part B. Urban Atmosphere, 1991
Temperature time series from three rural and one urban stations have been analysed for trends caused by the growing of Madrid city. A significant upward trend was found in the urban temperatures, but not in the rural. The analysis suggests that there was a change in the upward urban trend in the 1940s, with recent years increasing more slowly. The urban heat island intensity (urban minus rural temperature) has been related to weather types for cold and warm periods, and the persistence of the phenomenon from day to day has been calculated.
A study of the Urban Heat Island of Granada
International Journal of Climatology, 2000
In this study we examine the Urban Heat Island (UHI) of Granada. First, we perform a study of the evolution of the recorded temperatures at a meteorological station over the last century. In this record, the minimum temperatures increase while the maximum temperatures decrease. We also compare both rural and urban temperature records, obtaining the UHI fluctuations on a smaller time scale. The results show that the UHI phenomenon is stronger in winter, and the maximum difference occurs in early morning when temperatures are at their daily minimum. Then, we examine the geographical distribution of temperature in the urban region and obtain the dependence of UHI form on meteorological conditions, urban geometry and time scale. Urban geometry plays a particular role in the UHI form. The formation of UHI phenomena depends mainly on weather conditions and on time of night. Finally, we relate both UHI form and intensity with the observed trends in the urban time series.
Solar Energy, 2013
The results of an urban heat island (UHI) study during summer and winter through a full year period (2010-2011) in a small city of western Greece are presented and analyzed. The specific research target was to identify the existence of the phenomenon, measure its intensity and investigate the parameters that may be associated with the appearance of the UHI. A network of air temperature sensors was installed in nine different locations of the city and measurements were recorded every 10 min. Extensive statistical analysis revealed strong UHI intensities reaching values up to 6.0°C with a mean intensity of 3.8°C during nocturnal hours of August. Heat island in the city proved to be a night dominating phenomenon while wind velocity was found to wield great impact on the ventilation and cooling effect of the city. During summer, early in the morning many locations in the city centre remained cooler than the rural environment while a heat island was observed on a monthly basis during winter. In order to determine the variation of the current energy needs due to the UHI effect, the heating degree hours during winter were calculated and were found to be much lower in the city centre than in the rural area (12.6-14.2% reduction). During summer, a high increase in the cooling degree hours of the city was observed in comparison to the rural environment, with a maximum difference of 36.3% for August 2010.
Urban heat island of Madrid and its influence over urbanthermal comfort
2017
This work is part of the activities MODIFICA Project: Predictive model of the energy performance of residential buildings under conditions of urban heat island (BIA2013-41732-R). This project is funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the R + D + i, 2013 program, and the authors are involved in their development, together with the research group Bioclimatic Architecture in a Sustainable Environment - ABIO (UPM). The hypothesis of the project is the fact that the transformation of land for urban growth in the city of Madrid potentiates the effect of the urban heat island (UHI), which modifies substantially in the urban microclimate. The UHI is the result of the gradual replacement of natural Surface by the urban area, whose surfaces absorb more solar radiation. This, coupled with other anthropogenic factors, increase the air temperature and cause an increase in local temperature. The consequence is a modification of the urban microclimate that affects to the com...
Urban heat island phenomenon in Central Europe
icaud.epoka.edu.al
The urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon is characterized by significantly higher temperatures in metropolitan areas as compared to the surrounding suburban and rural neighborhoods. In this context, this paper presents a preliminary report pertaining to an ongoing EU-supported research project, which investigates the urban heat island phenomena in Central Europe. First, the background and general scope of the UHI phenomena are discussed. Subsequently, the paper investigates the manifestation of the urban heat islands phenomena (especially in the city of Vienna) and evaluates possible mitigation and adaptation strategies.
On the statistics of urban heat island intensity
Geophysical Research Letters, 2013
This Supplementary Material consists of the following additional details and results: 1. Boundary Generation Algorithm 2. Summertime mean land surface temperature (LST) of Greater London and surroundings 3. Exemplary comparison of LST and 2 m air temperature as well as the corresponding urban heat island (UHI) intensities 4. Largest city cluster, Flemish Diamond (a) S c = 349
Three years of study of the Urban Heat Island in Padua: Experimental results
2013
The Urban Heat Island effect concerns the higher air temperature in urban environment with respect to the rural one. This phenomenon has been well known for hundreds of years, but it has been experimentally studied only for the last few decades and in large metropolis. The paper reports on the experimental results obtained during the period 2010-2011 in a medium size city of Italy by the research group of the Department of Environmental Agronomy and Crop Productions of the University of Padua. During the summer of 2012 the work has been developed by the authors, in cooperation with Co.Ri.La. (Venice) within the European Project "UHI -Development and application of mitigation and adaptation strategies and measures for counteracting the global Urban Heat Islands phenomenon" (3CE292P3). The main thermohygrometric variables (air temperature, relative humidity, global solar radiation) have been measured along some different paths fixed in advance, crossing different zones of the city area: urban, sub-urban and rural. The high number of mobile surveys implemented in different time bands during the day and after the sunset allows to characterize the phenomenon. The results indicate a presence of the UHI in urban zones of the city up to 6 • C. Some measurements in situ have been further conducted in order to evaluate the mean radiant temperature as well as in some characteristic sites of the city area: historic center, high and low density populated residential zones, industrial zone, rural zone.
Atmospheric Research, 2012
The urban heat island in the coastal city of Thessaloniki, Greece, is investigated using nearsurface temperature data measured at 7 sites in the greater Thessaloniki area for the 1-year period from March 2008 to February 2009. The urban heat island in Thessaloniki is stronger in the nighttime than in the daytime and decreases with increasing wind speed, while there are indications that it is more pronounced during the warm half of the year. Observations of the maximum urban heat island intensity range from 2°C to 4°C and from 1°C to 3°C during the warm and the cold part of the year, respectively, showing a smaller variability during the summer moths than in the winter. Greatest values are more usually observed following sunset, whereas minimum values are detected during solar peak hours. A regression analysis is carried out to investigate the impact of moisture availability and wind speed on the development of the urban heat island in Thessaloniki. It is found that the nocturnal heat island results to increased nighttime water vapor pressure in the urban areas, whereas during the day the heat island intensity and urban/semi-rural water vapor pressure differences are found to be anticorrelated. Furthermore, the intensity of Thessaloniki's heat island appears to decrease significantly when wind speed exceeds 4 m/s. The impact of the urban heat island on human thermal comfort in Thessaloniki is also investigated, computing hourly values of the discomfort index and the approximated wet bulb globe temperature. The center of the city is found to exhibit the highest discomfort index and approximated wet bulb globe temperature values. In addition, the urban heat island is found to have a negative impact on thermal comfort on most of the observed occasions. In particular, a 1.5°C increase in the urban heat island intensity appears to result to an average 1°C increase in discomfort index and 1.4°C increase in approximated wet bulb globe temperature of the urban area on about 50% and 75% of the cases, respectively.
The Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect is particularly concerning in Mediterranean zone, as climate change and UHI scenarios foresee a fast growth of energy consumption for next years, due to the widespread of air conditioning systems and the increase of cooling demand. The UHI intensity is thus a key variable for the prediction of energy needs in urban areas. This study investigates the intensity of UHI in Barcelona (Spain), the densest Mediterranean coastal city, and its impact on cooling demand of residential buildings. The experimental analysis is based on temperature data from rural and urban Weather Stations and field measurements at street level. The maximum average UHI intensity is found to be 2.8 ◦C in winter and 1.7 ◦C in summer, reaching 4.3 ◦C at street level. Simulations performed with EnergyPlus indicate that the UHI intensity increases the sensible cooling load of residential buildings by around 18%–28%, depending on UHI intensity, amount of solar gains and cooling set point. In the light of the results, the UHI intensity in Mediterranean context should be properly considered in performing energy evaluations for urban contexts, since standard meteorological data from airport weather stations are not found to be accurate enoug.
Lisbon heat island statistical study (2004-2012)
Finisterra, 2015
With the aim of implementing climatic guidelines for planning purposes, the urban climate of each particular city must be assessed, particularly the frequency of unwanted climatic features, such as the Urban Heat island (UHi). as the Lisbon "Mesoscale urban meteorological network" (CeG-iGOt-ULisboa) has been running since 2004, it is now possible to present statistical results about the UHi. it was calculated on an hourly basis as the difference between one of the "central" measurement points (restauradores or saldanha) and one of the eccentric points of the network (Carnide or Monsanto). UHi is more intense in summer (maximum hourly averages up to 6.3ºC) than in winter (up to 3.8ºC), and more intense during the night than during the day. in Lisbon, its causes are not only due to the modification of energy balance in urban areas, but also to the shelter effect from the prevailing and cold/cool north winds, due to the topography and the buildings.