• 9964432222
  • Mail Us
  • Appointment
  • Locate Us
  • Chat Now
  • Courses
  • Login
  • Register
Manifest IAS
JournalsOfIndia
Manifest Learning Academy
  • Home
  • SNIPPETSfor Prelims
  • ARTICLESfor Mains
  • BROWSEBY SOURCE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • SNIPPETSfor Prelims
  • ARTICLESfor Mains
  • BROWSEBY SOURCE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result
JournalsOfIndia
No Result
View All Result
Home Environment

Urban Heat Islands

May 18, 2022
in Environment
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Urban Heat Islands
97
VIEWS
Share on WhatsAppShare on TelegramShare on Facebook
image_pdfMake PDF
In news– Currently, several parts of the country are reeling under heat wave conditions due to a phenomenon called an “urban heat island effect”.

Key updates-

  • Recently, two areas in Delhi recorded temperatures close to 50 degrees Celsius. Mungeshpur recorded a temperature of 49.2 degrees Celsius, while at Najafgarh, it was 49.1 degrees. 
  • Experts say these temperature differences are due to variations in heating over highly urbanised and semi-urbanised areas and the comparative availability of open and green spaces in the surroundings. 
  • NASA’s Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment (Ecostress) captured an image recently, covering an area of about 12,350 square kilometres, which showed a large red patch around Delhi and smaller red patches around neighbouring cities of Sonipat, Panipat, Jind and Bhiwani. 
  • These red patches, implying higher temperatures, were the heat islands, while the rural areas around the cities witnessed lower temperatures.
  • Ecostress is an instrument with a radiometer which was sent onto the International Space Station in 2018. 
  • It can measure temperatures on the ground, as opposed to the air temperature. 
  • Ground temperatures are likely to be higher during the day than air temperatures and almost the same during the night. 

What is an urban heat island?

  • An urban heat island is a local and temporary phenomenon experienced when certain pockets within a city experience higher heat load than surrounding or neighbouring areas on the same day.
  • For example, a greener locality like Pashan in Pune often records cooler temperatures than urban areas like Shivajinagar, Chinchwad or Magarpatta.
  • The variations are mainly due to heat remaining trapped within locations that often resemble concrete jungles.
  • The temperature variation can range between 3 to 5 degrees Celsius.
  • The main way to cut heat load within urban areas is increasing the green cover; filling open spaces with trees and plants.
  • Other ways of heat mitigation include appropriate choice of construction materials, promoting terrace and kitchen gardens, and painting white or light colours on terraces wherever possible to reflect heat.

Why are cities hotter than rural areas?

  • Rural areas have relatively larger green cover in the form of plantations, farmlands, forests and trees as compared to urban spaces. This green cover plays a major role in regulating heat in its surroundings.
  • Transpiration is a natural way of heat regulation. This is the scientific process of roots absorbing water from the soil, storing it in the leaves and stems of plants, before processing it and releasing it in the form of water vapour.
  • On the contrary, urban areas lack sufficient green cover or gardens and are often developed with highrise buildings, roads, parking spaces, pavements and transit routes for public transport. 
  • As a result, heat regulation is either completely absent or man-made.
  • Black or any dark coloured object absorbs all wavelengths of light and converts them to heat, while white reflects it.
  • Cities usually have buildings constructed with glass, bricks, cement and concrete — all of which are dark-coloured materials, meaning they attract and absorb higher heat content.
  • Thus forms temporary islands within cities where the heat remains trapped. 
image_pdfMake PDF
Source: The Indian Express
Tags: NewspaperPrelims

Related Posts

Mayurbhanj’s ‘ant chutney’

Mayurbhanj’s ‘ant chutney’

July 5, 2022
Species added to India’s floral and faunal database in 2021

Species added to India’s floral and faunal database in 2021

July 5, 2022
Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022

Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022

July 2, 2022
2022 United Nations Ocean Conference

2022 United Nations Ocean Conference

July 1, 2022
Ban on single use plastics

Ban on single use plastics

July 1, 2022
India Forum for Nature-based Solutions

India Forum for Nature-based Solutions

July 1, 2022
EU’s Nature Restoration Law

EU’s Nature Restoration Law

June 30, 2022
Oceans Great Dying 2.0

Oceans Great Dying 2.0

June 29, 2022
Menar bird village to be declared wetland

Menar bird village to be declared wetland

June 28, 2022
Kerala to have its own Red list of Birds

Kerala to have its own Red list of Birds

June 28, 2022
Please login to join discussion

Our Offline Classroom Student

PRELIMS 2021 POLITY QUESTIONS ANALYSED

https://youtu.be/5q8hBcRGhAs

PRELIMS 2021 HISTORY QUESTIONS ANALYSED

https://youtu.be/v0SIZ7SUybg

CONGRATULATIONS TO 2021 TOPPERS !!!

Rank 171 Kumar Shivashish
Rank 250 Sahithya
Rank 263 Sumit Kumar Thakur
Rank 311 Deepak Ramachandra Shet
Rank 455 Ravinandan B M

July 2022
MTWTFSS
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Jun    

Browse by Category

  • Agriculture
  • Disaster Management
  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Geography
  • Governance
  • History
  • Law & Policy
  • Opinion
  • People in News
  • Places in News
  • Science & Tech
  • Security
  • Society
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized

Browse by Tags

AIR BBC Business Standard CNN Deccan Herald DownToEarth Down to Earth DTE Economic Times ET GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 Hindustan Times IE India & the world Indian express India today Indiatoday Kurukshetra LiveMint Mains News Newspaper News Paper PIB PIB & The Hindu pre Prelims PRS India RSTV Science Reporter Survey The Hindu The Hindustan Times The India Express The Indian Express The New Indian Express Times of India TOI TOPPERS UNDP website Wikipedia Yojana
JournalsOfIndia

Our vision is to orient the readers to grasp the facts objectively and analyse critically. In the rush of reaching first to the readers, the websites miss the balanced opinion, which is the need of the hour. We aim to reach the readers with more crispness, preciseness and relevance. We bring the articles in UPSC way for the civil services aspirants and the Wisest Way for general readers.

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Disaster Management
  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Geography
  • Governance
  • History
  • Law & Policy
  • Opinion
  • People in News
  • Places in News
  • Science & Tech
  • Security
  • Society
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized

Browse by Tag

AIR BBC Business Standard CNN Deccan Herald DownToEarth Down to Earth DTE Economic Times ET GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 Hindustan Times IE India & the world Indian express India today Indiatoday Kurukshetra LiveMint Mains News Newspaper News Paper PIB PIB & The Hindu pre Prelims PRS India RSTV Science Reporter Survey The Hindu The Hindustan Times The India Express The Indian Express The New Indian Express Times of India TOI TOPPERS UNDP website Wikipedia Yojana

Newsletter

The most important UPSC news and events of the day.

Get Journals daily newsletter on your inbox.

© 2020 JournalsOfIndia - A free initiative by Manifest Team.

  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Home
  • SNIPPETS
  • ARTICLES
  • BROWSE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result

© 2020 JournalsOfIndia - A free initiative by Manifest Team.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In