Trend Analysis of Urban Heat Island Intensity According to Urban Area Change in Asian Mega Cities

Abstract

Urban heat island (UHI) is a phenomenon that occurs in cities worldwide. Therefore, there is an increasing need for studies on the changes in UHI intensity and long-term trends based on macroscopic characteristics related to urbanization. In this study, changes in seasonal UHI intensity based on urban area were analyzed for eight Asian mega cities from 1992–2012. The results indicate that the change in pattern of UHI intensity varies for different cities and seasons. UHI intensity increased as the urban area size increased. Furthermore, the dependency of UHI intensity on the economic situation was also demonstrated. With respect to the seasons, significantly increasing trends appeared during the summer. Moreover, depending on urban characteristics such as geography and climate, increasing trends appeared during other seasons. Population was also found to affect UHI intensity by generating anthropogenic heat; however, its effect as an individual factor appeared to be insignificant. This is a macroscale study that analyzes the effect of urban area size on UHI intensity. Future studies on urbanization factors and levels influencing the UHI intensity using higher resolution materials are required