Uploaded on 2016-03-21 by Kevinsobsan

- Los Angeles: 27.0°C hotter in the city than the rural area - Dallas: 19.0°C hotter in the city than the rural area - Boston: 15.0°C hotter in the city than the rural area - New York: 20.0°C hotter in the city than the rural area 2. Which are the main UHI effects that you can identify in your area? - In Mexico city we have a lot of climate changes through the year, we can go form a sunny to cold to rainy or even have two climates in one day, it could start of as a sunny and end raining. This climate changes we have so often in the city are caused because we live in a valley, and the altitude. Mexico city is surrounded by a lot of mountains, when winter comes you can have snow on top of the mountains but not on the valley, at least not until now. - In the first picture we can se how dense the city is, the picture shows us one of the densest areas of the city, Reforma, and although we have some green areas it is not enough to prevent de heat islands. As we move to less dense areas of the city we found a more cold weather, especially near the mountains. A great example of the drop of weather is going to de Ajusco (the main mountain that surrounds the city). The lack of green areas in the city produce a higher heat island, also a main reason the heat island are so dense, is because of the amount of vehicles that circulate every day. The little green areas we have are being destroyed because of the demand of new buildings for the people that keep coming to the capital and although the government are planting new trees it will take many years before they get to their full capacity and counteract the heat islands effect. Another problem we have is that the people that live in the city are also polluting the little green areas we have. - Also another cause of the island effects we can find in the city is the amount of roads we have, and we keep building more and more. As we learn in the video the roads conserve a lot of heat and without the shades provided by the trees the heat islands are more concentrated. ![Reforma][1] ![Xochimilco][2] 3. Which are the measures you would propose? - One measure I would propose would be to use solar electricity. We could use it for the streetlights. Another measure that could be use is to plant more trees although it would take some time for them to provide the shade we need. Green walls could also be one way to help fight the heat islands. An important thing that I would recommend is urban planning, the city is growing every day, and the problem is that it grows without planning, this way we could plan for more green areas in the city. 4. Is UHI effect concerning policy making in your area? - Yes they are the government is taking some actions to fight the heat island effect. They have been putting a lot of bicycles around the city so people could use them. Also the government is starting to implement green roofs. Another thing they are doing is to get electric public transport going on. Every Sunday they close some street so people could use the bicycle without any car going around. [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14586016388757699.jpg [2]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/1458601651493245.jpg