Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

7-2006

Abstract

The temporal variability of the canopy‐level urban heat island (UHI) of Singapore is examined for different temporal scales on the basis of observations during a 1‐year period. Temperature data obtained from different urban areas (commercial, Central Business District (CBD), high‐rise and low‐rise housing) are compared with ‘rural’ reference data and analysed with respect to meteorological variables and differences in land use. The results indicate that the peak UHI magnitude occurs 3–4 h (>6 h) after sunset in the commercial area, (at other urban sites). Higher UHI intensities generally occur during the southwest monsoon period of May–August, with a maximum of ∼7 °C observed in the commercial area under ideal meteorological conditions. Variations in seasonal precipitation explain some of the differences in urban–rural cooling. No clear relationship between urban geometry and UHI intensity can be seen, and intra‐urban variations of temperature are also shown to be influenced by other site factors, e.g. the extent of green space and anthropogenic heat. Lastly, results from the present study are compared with UHI data from other tropical and mid‐latitude cities.

Keywords

urban heat island, tropical urban climate, temperature, Singapore

Discipline

Asian Studies | Environmental Sciences

Research Areas

Humanities

Publication

International Journal of Climatology

Volume

26

Issue

15

First Page

2243

Last Page

2260

ISSN

0899-8418

Identifier

10.1002/joc.1364

Publisher

Wiley

Copyright Owner and License

Publisher

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.1364

Share

COinS