Name:

Urban Heat Island

1) Summarize urban heat island in your own words. Explain what causes it and why it is
significant.

2) Use information from the “Urban Heat Island Article” and the internet to create an acrostic
about urban heat islands. Write a phrase (or sentence(s)) beginning with each of the letters
below. Each phrase should explain, be about, or be connected to urban heat islands.

U Urban heat islands also increase precipitation in cities and areas downwind of cities.

R Recorded increase in average temperatures worldwide.

B Buildings, concrete, asphalt, and the human and industrial activity of urban areas
have caused cities to maintain higher temperatures than their surrounding
countryside.

A An increase in the amount of energy used for cooling purposes, and increases
pollution.

N Night is when cities loose heat, thus causing the greatest temperature differences
between city and countryside to take place at night.

H Have seen increases of 0.2°-0.8°F each decade.

E Every house, building, and road changes the microclimate around it, contributing to
the urban heat islands of our cities.

A Activity of urban areas have caused cities to maintain higher temperatures than their
surrounding countryside

T Trees can reduce energy costs by 10-20%. The concrete and asphalt of our cities
increases runoff, which decreases the evaporation rate and thus also increases
temperature.

I Increased heat enhances photochemical reactions, which increases the particles in

the air and thus contributes to the formation of smog and clouds.

S Such data is corrected by atmospheric scientists studying global warming.

L London receives approximately 270 fewer hours of sunlight than the surrounding
countryside due to clouds and smog.
Name:

A An increase in average temperatures worldwide was recorded.

N Not only is it helpful to plant trees, it shades cities from incoming solar radiation.

D Discomfort for everyone is when there is increased heat in our cities.