SITE PLANNING

ASSIGNMENT
ON
HEAT ISLAND EFFECT

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

AR.SHADAB HASAN KHAN ROHINI PRADHAN
16001157
B.ARCH 4TH SEMESTER
 WHAT IS HEAT ISLAND EFFECT

 As urban areas develop, changes occur in their landscape. Buildings,

roads, and other infrastructure replace open land and vegetation.
Surfaces that were once permeable and moist become impermeable and
dry.
 These changes cause urban regions to become warmer than their rural
surroundings, forming an "island" of higher temperatures in the
landscape.
 The term “Heat Island" describes built up areas that are hotter than
nearby rural areas. The annual mean air temperature of a city with 1
million people or more can be 1–3°C warmer than its surroundings. In
the evening, the difference can be as high as (12°C).
 Heat islands can affect communities by increasing summertime peak energy
demand, air conditioning costs, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions,
heat-related illness and mortality, and water quality.
 Communities can take a number of common-sense measures to reduce the
effects of summertime heat islands.
 EFFECTS
1. INCREASED ENERGY CONSUMPTION
 Elevated summertime temperatures in cities increase energy demand for
cooling. Research shows that electricity demand for cooling increases 1.5–
2.0% for every 0.6°C increase in air temperatures, starting from 20 to 25°C,
suggesting that 5–10% of community-wide demand for electricity is used to
compensate for the heat island effect.
 Urban heat islands increase overall electricity demand, as well as peak
demand, which generally occurs on hot summer weekday afternoons, when
offices and homes are running cooling systems, lights, and appliances.
2. ELEVATED EMISSIONS OF AIR POLLUTANTS AND
GREENHOUSE GASES
 As described above, urban heat islands raise demand for electrical energy in
summer. Companies that supply electricity typically rely on fossil fuel power
plants to meet much of this demand, which in turn leads to an increase in air
pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions.
 The primary pollutants from power plants include sulfur dioxide (SO2),
nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), and
mercury (Hg). These pollutants are harmful to human health and also
contribute to complex air quality problems such as the formation of ground-
level ozone (smog), fine particulate matter, and acid rain.
 Increased use of fossil-fuel-powered plants also increases emissions of
greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), which contribute to global
climate change.
 Elevated temperatures can directly increase the rate of ground-level ozone
formation. Ground-level ozone is formed when NOx and volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) react in the presence of sunlight and hot weather.

3. COMPROMISED HUMAN HEALTH AND COMFORT

 Increased daytime temperatures, reduced night-time cooling, and higher air
pollution levels associated with urban heat islands can affect human health by
contributing to general discomfort, respiratory difficulties, heat cramps and
exhaustion, non-fatal heat stroke, and heat-related mortality.
 Heat islands can also cause the impact of heat waves, which are periods of
abnormally hot, and often humid, weather. Sensitive populations, such as
children, older adults, and those with existing health conditions, are at
particular risk from these events.
 Excessive heat events, or abrupt and dramatic temperature increases, are
particularly dangerous and can result in above-average rates of mortality.
4. IMPAIRED WATER QUALITY
 High pavement and rooftop surface temperatures can heat storm water
runoff. Tests have shown that pavements that are 38°C can elevate initial
rainwater temperature from roughly 21ºC to over 35ºC. This heated storm
water generally becomes runoff, which drains into storm sewers and raises
water temperatures as it is released into streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes.
 Water temperature affects all aspects of aquatic life, especially the
metabolism and reproduction of many aquatic species. Rapid temperature
changes in aquatic ecosystems resulting from warm storm water runoff can be
particularly stressful, even fatal to aquatic life.
MIGITATION MEASURES
1. Increasing tree and vegetative cover.
2. Creating green roofs (also called "rooftop
gardens" or "eco-roofs").
3. Installing cool—mainly reflective— roofs.
4. Using cool pavements.
 Trees, vegetation, and green roofs can reduce heating and cooling energy use
and associated air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, remove air
pollutants, sequester and store carbon, help lower the risk of heat-related
illnesses and deaths, improve storm water control and water quality, reduce
noise levels, create habitats, improve aesthetic qualities, and increase
property values.
 Cool roofs can lower cooling energy use, peak electricity demand, air
pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, heat-related incidents, and solid
waste generation due to less frequent re-roofing.
 Cool pavements can indirectly help reduce energy consumption, air pollution,
and greenhouse gas emissions. Depending on the technology used, cool
pavements can improve storm water management and water quality, increase
surface durability, enhance night-time illumination, and reduce noise.
 CAUSES
 When urban and suburban areas lose land surface and naturally occurring
vegetation, heat can no longer easily escape.
 Tall buildings, concrete, and asphalt trap heat and contribute to the warming
effect.
 Waste heat from energy use is another source of additional heat.
 Other contributing factors include local weather, seasonal changes, time of day,
and geographic location.
 There are three basic types of heat islands: canopy layer, boundary layer, and
surface.
 Both canopy layer and boundary layer heat islands refer to atmospheric heating
(warmer air temperatures).
 Surface heat islands refer to the actual temperature of surfaces in a specific heat
island. Although the timing and intensity of these types may vary, they can all be
harmful to urban and suburban environments.
 IMPLICATIONS OF HEAT ISLAND

 Heat islands are considered a form of local climate change as opposed to

global climate change.
 The effects of heat islands are confined to specific areas, and do not have a
larger impact on climate change. Despite being confined to a certain locality,
heat islands can still make a significant impact.
 Of course, one of the most noticeable impacts on urban dwellers is an
increase in hot, summer weather.
 On particularly clear and hot days, when the heat island effect is at its worst,
inhabitants of larger cities will notice hotter and more uncomfortable
temperatures.
 New York City is a great example of just how hot and unpleasant this effect
can be. New York City has been called a “floating oven” due to the sweltering
summer heat caused by the urban heat island effect.
 When people are feel hot, they often crank up their air conditioners.
Increases in air conditioning use not only results in more heat being released
into the air, this also contributes to air pollution, as more greenhouse gas
emissions are discharged. This negatively impacts air quality and can also lead
to a surge in urban smog.
 Some urban areas have even seen the effects of heat islands negatively
impact health. The increase in temperature and air pollution can lead to
problems such as asthma, increased spread of vector-born disease, heat
stroke, and childhood obesity.
 The city of Toronto averages about 120 deaths per year which are attributed
in some way to spikes in heat. Other large cities experience similar heat-
related deaths due to the heat island effect.
 REDUCTION OF HEAT ISLAND
 Since the impact of heat islands is mostly negative, scientists and researchers
are searching for ways to reduce and reverse the effects.
 Dark roof surfaces are one of the major culprits of temperature increases.
 One popular technique for combatting the heat island effect is
installing green roofs on urban buildings.
 Green roofs, which are lined with soil and certain types of vegetation, can
actually help cities regain some of the cooling and evaporative effects that
the natural landscape once provided. As this idea becomes more popular,
there is more and more scientific evidence that green roofs can reduce heat
in urban areas.
 Dark building surfaces that absorb more heat account for some of the rising
temperatures in urban areas. One simple method for reducing this effect is to
paint buildings with light or white colors that do not absorb nearly as much
heat.
 Some cities are also using paint treatments that reflect light to combat the
heat island effect.
 Another rooftop technique that can help to ameliorate the heat island effect
is roof sprinkling. As moisture from the sprinklers evaporates, this helps to
cools the surrounding air.
 There are many different methods for reducing and even reversing the urban
heat effect, but one basic idea lies at the heart of all of these efforts:
intentional building and urban planning. So, when building and expanding
cities, we must acknowledge the impact we have on the climate and the
environment.
THANK YOU