Urban Areas Getting Hotter Faster

[n2doc]

By Emily Sohn
Tue Jun 22, 2010 10:05 AM ET

On a sizzling summer day, the center of a city's downtown can make you feel like a turkey baking in an oven -- and it's only going to get worse.

Not only do cities retain more heat than rural areas do, found a new study, hot cities will grow even hotter as the climate warms and cities grow. By mid-century, nighttime temperatures in cities could rise by more than 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

At stake are the comfort and health of people who live in cities around the world, especially those who don't have access to air-conditioning.

"If you've been exposed to hot temperatures during the day and you expect relief over night, that becomes increasingly difficult as temperatures at night get warmer," said Richard Betts, a climate scientist at the United Kingdom's Met Office. "We have to prepare to live in a warmer world."

In a concrete jungle, roads and buildings absorb sunlight and trap heat, which also flows as waste out of cars, air-conditioning units and even just the breathing of millions of people crammed into a busy grid of streets. As a result, cities create their own, warmer microclimates -- a phenomenon called the urban heat island effect.

more

http://news.discovery.com/earth/urban-cities-warming-heat.html

[WCGreen]

1. I think that has been known now for as long as I can remember

And I'm an old hippie...

Hot town summer in the city...

Ubran areas are a huge heat sink...

[kestrel91316]

2. The urban heat island effect has been known of and understood for decades.

Of course, it seems absent altogether this year in the San Fernando Valley, lol. Our temps this month have been 15-30 degrees BELOW THE USUAL. We are on a run of many, many days of lovely 80-ish temps. Two years ago this time we had a run of 117F, and our very hottest weather typically comes in these late spring/early summer weeks.

Knock wood. Forecast through the weekend is low 80's........I am saving $$$$$$ on my electric bill with no A/C running.