Heat island

Heat island

An urban area characterised by temperatures higher than those of the surrounding non-urban area. As urban areas develop, buildings, roads, and other infrastructure replace open land and vegetation. These surfaces absorb more solar energy, which can create higher temperatures in urban areas.

This is auto-generated content. You can help to improve it.

0 0

Improve it

Add an image

Part of Speech: noun
Synonym(s):
Blossary:
Industry/Domain: Natural environment
Category: Climate change
Government Agency: U.S. EPA
Product:
Acronym-Abbreviation:

Collect to Blossary

Other Languages:

Related terms

heat island

Weather; Meteorology

Closed isotherms indicating an area of the surface that is relatively warm; most commonly associated areas of human disturbance such as towns and cities. The physiographic analogy ...

heat island

Geography; Physical geography

The warm air found around and above an urban area, distinct from the air temperature above the surrounding rural land.

heat island

Environment; Environment statistics

Phenomenon arising from a difference in mean annual temperature of 1 degree centigrade or more between a city and its hinterland.

heat island

Natural environment; Climate change

An urban area characterized by temperatures higher than those of the surrounding non-urban area. As urban areas develop, buildings, roads, and other infrastructure replace open ...

urban heat island

Weather; Meteorology

Closed isotherms indicating an area of the surface that is relatively warm; most commonly associated areas of human disturbance such as towns and cities. The physiographic analogy ...

heat island effect

Environment; Environmental conservation

A dome of elevated temperatures over an urban area caused by the heat absorbed by structures and pavement.

Annex I countries

Natural environment; Climate change

The industrialised countries (and countries in transition to a market economy) which took on obligations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol. Their ...

Annex II

Natural environment; Climate change

Countries which have a special obligation under the Kyoto Protocol to provide financial resources and transfer technology to developing countries. This group is a sub-section of ...

Aosis

Natural environment; Climate change

The Alliance of Small Island States comprises 42 island and coastal states mostly in the Pacific and Caribbean. Members of Aosis are some of the countries likely to be hit hardest ...

The Fourth Assessment Report (AR4)

Natural environment; Climate change

The Fourth Assessment Report produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published in 2007. The report assessed and summarised the climate change situation ...

Bali action plan

Natural environment; Climate change

A plan drawn up at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, in December 2007, forming part of the Bali roadmap. The action plan established a working group to define a long-term ...

Bali roadmap

Natural environment; Climate change

A plan drawn up at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, in December 2007, to pave the way for an agreement at Copenhagen in 2009 on further efforts to reduce greenhouse gas ...