ENVIRONMENT

Natural and Man-made

Parameter induced Spatial Variation in Microclimate
Ar. Sheeba Valsson and Dr. Alka Bharat

An adequate
understanding of
microclimatic features
can help us shape
environmentally
sustainable habitats.

28 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People January 2008

t has been observed that there are

micro level changes in the climatic
conditions when we move from one
part of an urban area to other. These
small scale patterns of climate are
termed as microclimate. With the
beginning of a new century; we are
faced with discussions and arguments
about the future of our cities. It is being
argued that cities have undergone a
major transformation process. Due
to rapid urbanization in developing

countries, these issues have gained

increased attention. As a consequence,
the interest in the microclimate around
buildings in urban areas has increased.
So the challenge lies in systematic
study of variations in climatic conditions w.r.t the various urban parameters
influencing the microclimate.
Although Climatic variations are
observed when we move from one city to
city, there are considerable variations in
climatic conditions within cities also. In

some patch of area it is raining, while in

other it is not, some area is colder than
the other and so on. It is very important
and interesting to understand these variations in temperature, humidity, wind
speed and direction etc. and investigate
the cause.
Modification of the earth's surface by
different urban parameters has a dramatic impact on local climate resulting in
variety of microclimates.
Understanding the effects of natural
and human activities and their interventions on climate will help in linking explicitly the urbanization process and the
microclimate and thus proper steps can
be taken to attain the objective of sustainable settlement.

CLIMATE VS MICROCLIMATE
Climate is the average of the atmospheric
conditions over an extended period of
time. Climate is commonly defined as the
weather averaged over a long period of
time. For practical uses the standard averaging period is 30 years, but other periods may be used depending on the purpose (World Meteorological Organization
- WMO). These quantities are most often
surface variables such as temperature,
precipitation, and wind.
Microclimate refers to the climate of
a site or location. Small scale patterns of
climate resulting from the influence
of topography, urban forms, water bodies, vegetation, etc. are known as
Microclimates. It implies to any local deviation from the Climate of a large region or
zone. Microclimate is the distinctive climate of a small-scale area, such as a garden, park, valley or part of a city. The
weather variables in a microclimate, such
as temperature, rainfall, wind or humidity,
may be subtly different from the conditions prevailing over the area as a whole
and from those that might be reasonably
expected under certain types of pressure
or cloud cover. Indeed, it is the amalgam

Table 1 - Climatic variables and their correlation

of many, slightly different local microclimates that actually makes up the microclimate for a town, city or wood. (Met
Office: Microclimates).

CLIMATIC VARIABLES AND

THEIR CORRELATION
The air temperature variation brings
about a change in water evaporation and
air saturation, leading to the changed air
humidity. Furthermore, the air temperature differences between different locations will also cause air pressure differences, which in turn would produce air
movement, thereby wind (direction and
speed). This variation in humidity and
wind speed and direction affects rainfall.
Thus, all weather variables on the Earth
will more or less be affected by the each
other (Table 1).
Basically the variations in these climatic
parameters is felt and observed when we
move from one part of a city to the other
and it is these subtle differences and
exceptions to the rule that make microclimates so fascinating to study.

ture, a research conducted by Erik

Johanson (1) is studied. The selected sites
are in city of Fez in Morocco. The climate
is characterized by hot and dry summer
and cold winters. One site is in the old city
which is extremely compact with narrow
streets, minimum open spaces and having 3-4 storied structures and thus having
deep canyon (H/W=9.7). The second site
is in the new city having wide road pavements, only 2-3 storeyed structures with
both front and backyards, thus having
shallow canyons(H/W=0.6).

VARIATIONS IN
MICROCLIMATE
INFLUENCE OF DENSITY, ASPECT
RATIO AND SKY VIEW FACTOR
To understand the variation in tempera-

Site map from the studied area in the old city

(the Seffarine district).

January 2008 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People 29

A street in the new neighbourhood - shallow

canyon

A narrow alley in the residential part of the old

neighbourhood-deep canyon

Summer

Site map from the studied area in the new city

(the Adarissa district).

30 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People January 2008

Winter
Average air temperatures

The measured air temperatures in

the two examples are shown along with
the temperature at the ariport. From
the graph it is clearly seen that during
the afternoon, which is the warmest
part of the day, the deep canyon was
markedly cooler than the shallow ones.
The difference was observed all year
round , but was especially pronounced
during summer.
Explanation to the Variation
Because of the high height to width ratio
(aspect ratio), the lower part is in complete shade and consequently, surfaces
remain cool and the air is not warmed up.
By night the cooling of the surfaces at the
canyon bottom is very weak. The deep
canyon has higher temperature because
of the much lower Sky view factor of the
deep canyon.
Inference
As the Height to width ratio increases
the minimum temperature increases
and the maximum temperature decreases.
INFLUENCE OF GROUND
CHARACTER
Ground sur face whether
natural or man-made, its characteristics of reflectance, permeability and soil temperature
influence the microclimate.
Depending on the ground surface, incident radiation can

be absorbed, reflected or stored and reradiated later.

The color and texture of a material

surface determines its reflectivity.
The lighter the color and smoother
the surface, more the reflectivity of
the material. The darker the surface
and rougher it is, the lower the
reflectivity. Such materials would
store more heat during the day and
reradiate it at night. This re-radiation mostly takes place at night
when the surroundings are at a
lower temperature. Vegetation,
namely, trees, shrubs, plants and
grass utilize sunlight for photosynthesis. They absorb and consume
the radiation. In this case the heat is
neither reflected nor reradiated.
Black surfaces in the sun can
become up to 40C hotter than the
most reflective white surfaces.

Thermal properties of materials that

may increase storage of sensible
heat in the fabric of the city during
the day time and release their
stored heat into the urban atmosphere after sunset.

The replacement of natural soil or

vegetation by materials like concrete or asphalt reduces the ability
to decrease ambient temperature
through evaporation and plant
transpiration because the ground
paved and Water disappears quickly
in the canalisation and the cooling
effect is low.

Table 1: Reflectivity values of various surfaces

Surface

Details

Albedo

Soil

Dark & wet versus

Light & Dry

0.05 0.40
0.15 - 0.45

Long versus
short

0.16 0.26

Sand
Grass
Agricultural crops

0.18 - 0.25

Tundra

0.18 - 0.25

Forests

Deciduous
Coniferous

0.15 - 0.20
0.05 - 0.15

Water

Small zenith angle versus

Large zenith angle

0.03 - 0.10
0.10 - 1.0

Snow

Old
Fresh

0.40 0.95

Ice

Sea
Glacier

0.30 - 0.45
0.20 - 0.40

Clouds

Thick
Thin

0.60 - 0.90
0.30 - 0.50

Sources: Oke, 1998; Ahrens, 2001

In cities however, the ground is

sealed. Water disappears quickly, and this
increased rapid runoff of precipitation
leads to low cooling effect. Thus the
replacement of natural soil or vegetation
by materials used in cities like concrete or
asphalt reduces the ability to decrease
ambient temperature through evaporation and plant transpiration.
INFLUENCE OF PARKS/VEGETATION
Plants, shrubs and trees absorb
radiation in the process of photosynthesis. As a result, they actually cool
the environment.
Places with plants and vegetation
have different thermal properties as
compared to built-up and hardsurfaced unplanted areas. The main

differences are:

Plants have lower heat capacity and

thermal conductivity than building
materials and hard surfaces.

Solar radiation is mostly absorbed in

the leaves, so that the reflected radiation is very small.

Rain water is absorbed in the soil.

Water is later evaporated from the
soil and mainly from the leaves. The
evaporation rate is much higher in
green areas than in unplanted, hard
covered areas.

Trees have great potential to cool

cities by shading and by "evapotranspiration." Evapotranspiration occurs
when plants secrete or "transpire"
water through pores in their leaves,in
a way, plants sweat like people do.

Different ground materials reflect, store and absorb heat to different degrees

January 2008 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People 31

Vegetation causes pressure differences which

shifts the air path
Vegetation increasing,
directing airflow

decreasing

and

The water draws heat as it evaporates,

cooling the air in the process.
Trees and hedges also affect airflow.
Thick vegetation effectively cut it off. On
the other hand, careful placement of
trees and hedges can direct and increase
air speeds. This is achieved by planting
trees and hedges so as to make a narrowing 'path' for the air. This reduction of area
increases air speed. The placement of
trees and hedges cause minor pressure
differences which marginally changes the
air path. This is easy to understand. The
leeward side/ wind shadow area is a low
pressure zone. Air tends to shift towards
this. In the case of hedges, the low pressure shifts the path downwards. Airflow
below the canopy of a tree is similarly
shifted upwards.
Vegetation causes pressure differences which shifts the air path

Plants reduce the wind speed and its

fluctuations near the ground.

Different types of vegetation and

planting patterns can act as wind
32 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People January 2008

catchers and wind screens. A single

tree with high trunk and wide canopy
can concentrate the wind near the
ground, thus increasing the wind
speed and a group of trees can
reduce significantly the wind speed in
the area.

Trees besides controlling the precipitation also control the seasonal and
annual temperature variations.
As a result, the micro-climate within
and near to green areas differs from
unplanted, built-up areas. The main differences are in the temperature, wind
velocity and turbulence, air and radiant
temperatures, humidity, and air cleanliness. The leaves of plants absorb most
of the solar radiation which strikes
them. They transform a very small part
of the radiant energy by photosynthesis
into chemical energy, and in this way
reduce the rate of heating of the urban
space slightly.
INFLUENCE OF PROXIMITY TO WATER
BODIES
Water has a relatively high latent heat of

evaporation as well as specific heat. In

other words, water uses up a comparatively large amount of heat in evaporating. It also absorbs or releases a comparatively large amount of heat for a unit rise
or fall of temperature. So, when water
evaporates by the movement of air, it
cools the air. This is evaporative cooling.
The proximity of a site to the sea or
other large water bodies also affects the
climatic conditions in and around the site.
Wind movement from the water body during the day, and towards it at night, is
caused by temperature differences of the
air close to the surfaces of the soil and
water. The relative humidity of air is also
affected, since the air coming from a water
body is more humid. Such phenomena are
stronger close to water bodies, but may
also affect the regional climate by creating
strong air movement reaching large distances. This is mainly affected by the physical characteristics of the region, such as
topography and vegetation. Usually, the
effect that a water body may have on the
local climatic conditions of a site diminishes not only with distance from the water
body, but with elevation as well.

Water bodies absorb much heat during the day

and reradiate it at night

Water has a relatively high latent heat

of evaporation as well as specific heat. In
other words, water uses up a comparatively large amount of heat in evaporating. It also absorbs or releases a comparatively large amount of heat for a unit rise
or fall of temperature. So, when water

evaporates by the movement of air, it

cools the air. This is evaporative cooling.
During the day time the land is heated more than water. The air from the land
is warmer, it rises up and cool air from
water blows to take its place. At night the
land cools faster than water, so, the water
is warmer than the land. The warm air
above water rises up and the cool air over
land rushes to take its place.
Presence of water bodies plays a
very important role in characterizing
a microclimate

Water absorbs relatively large amount

of radiation.

They also allow evaporative cooling.

As a result, during the daytime areas
around water bodies are generally
cooler. At night, however, water bodies release relatively large amounts of
heat to the surroundings.
Water bodies influences air temperature of the surrounding areas and the
drop in temperature has a direct impact
on the wind velocity

PONDS AND FOUNTAINS

Evaporation in a pond is proportional to
the air-water contact area. Such areas
increase considerably with the incorporation of fountains and sprayers, thus producing an extra decrease in water temperature. The smaller drops are, the greater
the air-water contact surface is, increasing

evaporation. A single water drop moving

through still air experiences two processes: Heat flows from the air to the drop (if
the air is hotter than the drop). Water evaporates from the drop to the surrounding
air. The hotter the drop is, the more water
will be evaporated. Inward heat transfer
will warm it up but evaporation will cool it
down. As a result of these two opposite
tendencies, an equilibrium drop temperature is reached (the wet bulb temperature
of the air). Once the drop has reached the
wet bulb temperature, the extra energy
needed to evaporate more water has to
come from the surrounding air. Cooling by
fountains is achieved simultaneously by
two different ways, by cooling directly the
air of the surrounding space and by cooling the water of the pond.
INFLUENCE OF LAND FORM AND
TOPOGRAPHY
The landform or topography of a site and
surrounding could either be flat, sloping
or undulating (mounds etc.). If the land is
flat, similar conditions would prevail over
the entire site. Topography or modulations of earth either in natural undisturbed or manmade conditions has the
ability to modify, ameliorate or accentuate climatic variations in different ways.
Mountain ranges are diverters of air
masses. They affect the flow of moisture-

laden air and cause rain shadows for the

areas on the leeward side. Temperature
decreases with the rise in height and cold
air flows downhill and settles in valleys.
As a result, the air temperature is lower in
such areas. Also air speed increases up
the windward slope. Air speed is maximum at the crest and minimum on the
leeward side.
Cool air has a higher density than
hot air. As a result cool air is heavier and
tends to settle down in depressions
while hot air rises. On the other hand, air
movement is also affected by pressure
difference. Airflow normally takes place
from high-pressure zones to low pressure zones. Obstacles in the path of airflow cause an air-buildup and therefore
a high pressure area on the windward
side. Similarly, direction of the airflow
would now depend on the shape of the
obstacle and the magnitude of the pressure difference.
Sun facing slopes (south facing in the
northern hemisphere) enable the exposure of buildings and open spaces to solar
radiation, during winter when the solar
altitude is low. Windward slopes experience higher wind speeds, and in some
cases higher relative humidity, than the
leeward ones. Low areas, such as valleys
surrounded by mountains may usually
suffer from poor ventilation and thermal
inversion or, conversely, may become
reservoirs of cool air. These, in turn, may
affect air quality by trapping smoke and
gas emissions from vehicles, industry and
heating systems. Long and narrow valleys
may experience strong winds parallel to
their axis. Such areas also experience air
movement parallel to the slope-rising, or
anabatic breezes during the day, and
descending, or katabatic winds at night.
These movements are the result of the
heating and cooling of air close to the
ground. Such adiabatic processes result
in a change of about 0.8 deg C in the air
temperature for every 100 m in altitude.
January 2008 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People 33

L a n d fo r m v a r i a t i o n s a n d t h e
microclimate.

Flat site experience little variation.

Air speed increases up the slope and

decrease down it.

Depression valleys experience lower

air temperatures.

Elevated places experience low pressure, air expands and cools when
pressure decreases, thus low temperature and high relative humidity.

2.
The emission of hygroscopic pollutants from cars and heavy industry act as
condensation nuclei, leading to the formation of cloud and smog, which can
trap radiation. In some cases, a pollution
dome can also build up;

3.

4.

CONCLUSION

Depression valleys have little air movement

unless they lie in the direction of airflow

INFLUENCE OF ANTHROPOGENIC HEAT

Anthropogenic heat release is the release
of heat due to combustion of fuels. It is a
heat source for the city not found in uninhabited surroundings. Its magnitude
varies greatly between cities, according to
per capita energy use and population density, and depends on the climate (due to
the demand for space heating or cooling),
the degree and type of industrial activity
and the type of urban transport system.

Emission of anthropogenic heat - cooling

towersSource: www.freefoto.com

Emission of anthropogenic heat - carsphoto:

Sebastian Wypych

34 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People January 2008

The study shows that all features/parameters, i.e. natural as well as man-made, influence the microclimate. Proper understanding of the influence of these parameters states explicitly the variations in
microclimate in various patches of an
urban area. The important conclusions are:

As the aspect ratio in a settlement

increases the minimum temperature
increases and the maximum temperature decreases.

Lower the Sky View factor, higher

the temperature.

Higher the building density, higher

the temperature.

Temperature increases with the

increase in paved area.

Presence of vegetation lowers the

temperature.

Presence or nearness to water bodies

cools the air.

Wind movement is from the water

body during the day and towards it
at night.

Elevated terrains have higher wind

speed.

Elevated places experience low pressure, low temperature and high relative humidity

Heat Island formed by anthropogenic

heat increases the temperature.

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Ar. S. Valsson, Lecturer, Smt MM

Deptt of Architecture, LAD College,
Nagpur and Dr. Alka Bharat,
Professor, Deptt of Architecture &
Planning, MANIT Bhopal.
Photographs: Courtesy the Author.