Uploaded on 2015-10-21 by LLevens

1. Check the temperature difference in US cities Dallas – up to 19.0o hotter in the city than in nearby rural areas.  City summers are on average 3.8 degrees hotter than in rural areas. 39 more days above 90 degrees each year than rural areas. Los Angeles – up to 27.0 degrees hotter in the city than in nearby rural areas. City summers are on average 2.4 degrees hotter than in rural areas.  5 more days above 90 degrees each year than rural areas. New York – up to 20.0 degrees hotter in the city than in nearby rural areas. City summers are on average 2.7 degrees hotter than in rural areas. 1 more days above 90 degrees each year than rural areas. Seattle – up to 17.0 degrees hotter in the city than in nearby rural areas. City summers are on average 4.1 degrees hotter than in rural areas.  2 more days above 90 degrees each year than rural areas. Washington – 21.0 degrees hotter in the city than in nearby rural areas. City summers are on average 4.7 degrees hotter than in rural areas.  17 more days above 90 degrees each year than rural areas. Interesting when you compare the first three with Seattle and Washington, and the difference between the average summer temperatures and the difference from city to rural temperature for each. On average across all 60 cities, urban summer temperatures were 2.4°F hotter than rural temperatures. Urban heat islands are even more intense at night. Over the past 10 years, average summer overnight temperatures were more than 4°F hotter in cities than surrounding rural areas. 2. When are the main UHI effects that you can identity in your area? I was not able to find specific data on the urban and rural temperature differences in Wellington or even New Zealand.  What I did find was information around mitigating heat in urban areas through sustainable building. Wellington temperatures average between 4 and 25 degrees.  The wind and the seaside location of Wellington make temperatures in Wellington very mild. It never gets too cold or too hot in Wellington. Based on the climate of Wellington I would expect we would not see really significant temperature differences between urban to rural areas. 3. Which are the measures you would propose? Sustainable building practices such as the use of light coloured surfaces on building and outdoor urban areas which have large amounts of sunshine to reflect solar and reduce heat. Appropriate thermal insulation and thickness for wall based on heating and cooling needs of the buildings and the roof pitch to reduce unwanted heat. Also look at the use of vegetation for shading buildings. 4. Is UHI effect concerning policy making in your area? Not that I can see from the building codes, there appears to be some discussion around this but     it has not become standard practice. The local council are concerned about waste water but only because pollutants are running into the harbour.  Central government have a campaign across New Zealand to encourage people to walk or cycle rather than drive. ![enter image description here][1] enter image description here![enter image description here][2] [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com? 14453917185238832.jpg [2]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14453919387312061.jpg