Uploaded on 2016-09-01 by Abhishek Shinde

The images are photograph of a busy street in Andheri street taken from flyover adjoining Andheri Station and other is a of housing complexes in Kasarwadavli,Thane aerial view. 1.Temperature difference in US cities- Based on the conclusions drawn by Climate central .org ,Washington It is been concluded that Average summer overnight temperatures were more than 4°F hotter in cities than surrounding rural areas.Also,Single-day urban temperatures in some metro areas were as much as 27°F higher than the surrounding rural areas, and on average across all 60 cities, the maximum single-day temperature difference was 17.5°F. The most temperature differences recorded over past 10 years are Miami is +17°F., New Orleans is +16°F., Philadelphia is +21°F,Washington DC is +21°F, Boston is +15°F, New York is +20°F. 2.Main UHI effects that you can identify in comparative places Kasarvadavli,Thane and Andheri , Mumbai,INDIA. I would like to draw a comparative comparison between two cities which are Mumbai and Thane.Mumbai being my workplace since last 3 years, it has been observed that Thane especially Kasarvadavli,my place of residence has significant cooler local climate in comparison to Mumbai.The images are photograph of a busy street in Andheri street taken from flyover adjoining Andheri Station and other is a of housing complexes in Kasarwadavli,Thane aerial view .The heavy traffic and the outdoor units have resulted into increase in local climate of Mumbai.Also,lack of vegetation has resulted into concrete jungles, accentuating the temperatures.On the other hand, Kasarvadavli is flanked by lush greenery of Yeoor Hills as shown in the photograph(The view from my home),thereby alleviating the local climate. Following conclusions can be drawn out for the comparative UHI effects in Andheri,Mumbai and Thane- a. Thane is none for its lakes and greenery which in evapo-transpiration process thereby lessening the radiant heat released. b. Streets in Thane are narrower which results in shading of streets ,thereby lowering the surface temperatures.Narrow streets leads to urban canyons that inhibit the escape of reflected radiation. c. The shanty roofs for shops and use of asbestos sheets for roofing has resulted to heat absorption by building walls resulting in increased internal temperatures. d. Paved concrete roads in Andheri has resulted in increased heat absorption leading to peak temperatures during afternoon times. e. Andheri being the business hub for most people,anthropogenic heat generated by vehicular traffic like auto rickshaws,metro,Buses ,private cars,etc. f. Due to various business activities in Andheri and high demand for internal cooling , the use of Air conditioners has stressed the local climate due to CFC's and HCFCs the cooling agents inside the ACs,resulting in increased CO2 footprint. g. In Andheri,Most of the residential buildings are converted into commercial offices ,training centers resulting in increased temperatures.Also , the buildings are mostly of RCC resulting in increased heat absorption. 3.Measures as Initiatives to reduce the UHI effect As of now,Thane is on the stage of rapid Urbanization following the footsteps of Mumbai. The proposed plans for Metro line -4 from Wadala to Kasarvadavli ,has not only been an attraction for the property buyers,but it has also resulted into fast unplanned development. The TDR purchase has resulted into massive skyscraper complexes in Thane,with no sense of ecology and Urban design.The one to blame are the politician and the developers!!!Where are the architects??They are considered as minuscule entities, as the urban governance and stakeholder ship is corrupted and disturbed.The other entities to be blamed are the property owners,who are in search for developing the properties at lower cost. However,this is still not the complete picture.The THANE MUNICIPAL CORPORATION(TMC) the governing body has few plans for greener Thane city.Also ,many architects are planned by chief minister of Maharashtra,Devendra Fadvnis along with Cluster redevelopment policies for the buildings in Thane with greener initiatives. However,the Measures though not necessary now,its better to frame it now,for the better Future of Thane,so as not to follow the footsteps of Mumbai. The most prior measures to be taken are- ⦁ First of all, the increase in Vegetative cover on the roof tops and shading of rooftops by reflective white surfaces would be a priority,as the buildings rooftop is exposed for the entire daytime.Thane boosts many redevelopment and developed projects. ⦁ Use of permeable materials for road construction as a substitute for concrete and asbestos roads would be the second step.This must be made a priority for the national highways and overhead bridges on Ghodbunder Road. ⦁ Reducing vehicular use by using trams ,car pooling services for transportation would ease down the anthrophogenic heat loads due to private cars. Governments initiative to increase the bus and metro frequencies would win the interest for daily commuters to avail public transport services rather than private transport.Transportation mitigation measures must be the priority as it contributes to major UHI contributor in Thane. ⦁ Commercial offices must reduce the air conditioning loads by use of natural ventilation methods, District cooling systems ,etc.Use of solar and photovolatics for electricity generations can reduce the load on appliances. Moreover,Thane especially Kasarvadavli has 7 to 8 malls on the Ghodbunder road,whose rooftops can be used for electricity generation and the glass facades for indoor green facades. 4.Policy frameworks in existing locality-Thane and other case studies of UHI mitigation policy in INDIA The need for UHI is necessary for good development as Thane and especially localities like Waghbil,Yeoor hills,Kasarvadavli are witnessing new construction,so the policy would act as guide for the architects,planners,government bodies,stakeholders and urban development bodies. As of now, there are no policies for UHI mitigation in Mumbai as well as in India.However, the Policies framework for UHI in Delhi and other research done by students,institutes can be taken for case study purpose.For the exercise, the study done by Centre for atmospheric Sciences by IIT students and the report "Scoping study for policy initiatives to minimise the urban heat island effect for low carbon urban growth" by Shakti Sustainable energy foundation along with Ashok B Lall architect,New Delhi is studied meticulously- The most important measures and UHI mitigation analysis tools and policy framework from above case studies are- ⦁ Architecture,planning ,urban design perspective-Application of maintenance free reflective surfaces with white coatings,will help reduce the roof top temperature .Use of Permeable materials and vegetation roof coverups. To support this, based on research done by Kiran Kumar ,Researcher at TERI(The Energy and Resources Initiative),it has been concluded that green roofs contribute to reduction of cooling load by 11.8% per year and reduction of strom water drainage by 61%.Mapping land use pattern in terms of buildings ,roads,parks and open spaces,transportation infrastructures percentages must be taken into consideration.For a building,percentages of the parameters like the roof ,abutting road,green roofs,Water body area must be mapped.Comparative hourly mean temperatures at peak hours for different locations in city,Maximum and minimum global radiation in Watt/sqm,hourly surface and atmospheric temperatures must be mapped for single location. ⦁ Urban Lifestyles and Urban structures-The different parameters that need to be monitored of urban lifestyles and urban structures are as follows. Transportation modes of public and private,Household appliances usage like cooking,washing,air conditioners,heaters,Building equipment usage like thermal,heating ,cooling equipment's,Land-use planning like infrastructure,open spaces,Building morphology like Floor space index,Height to width ratio and building height,Surface characters like water bodies,green roofs. ⦁ Urban Heat Island Effect measurement -The UHI effect is of different types and hence its measurement and analysis needs to monitoried on real time daily basis.This data must also be shared with the common citizens to adopt and change their Urban lifestyles.There are two approaches for mapping the UHI differences between rural and urban areas i.e. Observational measurement approach and Simulation measurement approach.Observational measurement approach includes field measurements like fixed station,mobile traverses and vertical sensing,Thermal remote sensing for monitoring the surface temperatures and its characteristics and lastly small scale modelling using wind tunnel effect on prototype models.Simulation measurement approach includes use of computational techniques,energy balances model uses like atmospheric phenomenon,turbulence fluctuations and velocity field as heat fluxes. ⦁ Sensor Technology -For monitoring and mapping huge UHI data for city,large setup of IOT ,Sensors and real time satellites and data centres are needed.However,the most important sensors and technology are described as follows.Use of technologies like Ceilometer(LIDAR),Microwave radiometers,RASS(Radio acoustic sounding system),SODAR(Sound Detection and Ranging ) are mandatory. Remote sensing sensors like GOES(Geostationary operational Environmental Satellite),AVHRR(Adavance very high Resolution Radiometer),MODIS(moderate resolution Imaging spectrometer),Landsat5 thematic mapper,ASTER(Tema Advance thermal emission Reflection radiometer) must also be used .GIS monitoring at Macro(Metropolitan Region),Meso(Urban Authority) and Micro levels (Municipality) is necessary.Local citizens can use sensors like Thermo-hydro data logger,IR thermometer,Heat stress Meter and IR thermal camera for mapping their individual UHI effect at their residence and workplaces. ⦁ Urban Governance,Stakeholder ship-The UHI mitigation policy must be implemented under the survilleanace of operational ministries and stringent guidelines of Environmental monitoring bodies.Similarly, the stakeholder ship consultation must also be taken into consideration.In case of Thane city,bodies like TMC(Thane Municipal Corporation),MHADA(Maharashtra Housing and Development Authority),Ghodbunder Road Estate Agent Corporation,Thane Real Estate Agent corporation must locally function to follow UHI mitigation measures.Similarly,Sanctioning and Approval of Buildings from MOEF(Ministry of Environment and FOrest),National environmental Policy(NEP),Central Pollution Control Board(CPB),Ministry of Urban Design(MOUD),Ministry of new and renewable energy(MNRE) must be mandatory with stringent monitoring .Green Building guidelines like IGBC(Indian Green Building Council),TERI(The Energy and Resource Institute),GRIHA(Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) and finally LEED India(Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) for different types of architecture buildings and infrastructure must be followed strictly by architects,planners,developers,stakeholders for monitoring UHI.