HR: 09:15h
AN: U51A-04    [PDF]
TI: Observation and Analysis of the Urban Heat Island in Singapore
AU: * Chow, W T
EM: g0202394@nus.edu.sg
AF: Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore., 1 Arts Link, Singapore, 117570 Singapore
AU: Roth, M
EM: geomr@nus.edu.sg
AF: Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore., 1 Arts Link, Singapore, 117570 Singapore
AB: Until recently, research into the Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon has been primarily focused in cities in temperate climates. In contrast, there has been hitherto relatively little interest in examining UHIs in tropical cities. With the majority of tropical cities undergoing rapid urbanization, knowledge of this aspect of the urban climate modification is essential to mitigate potential climate-related problems in the urban environment. This paper will present preliminary results of an ongoing project based on fixed and mobile observations from 2002 to 2004. This project is one of the first comprehensive studies of temperature and humidity distributions of a tropical city. The focus is on the spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of the temperature and humidity fields of Singapore. Climate parameters are measured in different landuse types (commercial, CBD, industrial, high-rise and low-rise residential areas) and compared with observations taken at a rural area of predominantly secondary rainforest. This data is analyzed over diurnal and seasonal periods and compared with results from temperate and other tropical UHI studies. Preliminary results indicate that there are significant differences in the magnitude and timing of the peak UHI in Singapore compared with work done in mid-latitude cities. There also appears to be a link between the role of moisture and UHI intensity: Drier periods are generally associated with larger UHI intensity differences. The role of different urban canyon geometries in affecting temperature cooling rates is also demonstrated. Lastly, suggestions and measures that can be undertaken to lower UHI stresses on the urban population will be reviewed.
DE: 3307 Boundary layer processes
DE: 3332 Mesospheric dynamics
DE: 3374 Tropical meteorology
SC: U
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting