Cities are Heat Islands, That Increases The Reported Temperatures, And Has To Be Calculated in the Global Warming Debate

From the UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
Highlights

• Urban heat island (UHI) intensities were estimated for the fifty most populous cities in the USA using PRISM climate data.
• The urban morphologies of the cities were quantified using spatial metrics and the NLCD 2006 land use/land cover dataset.
• The statistical analyses suggested that highly contiguous dense and sprawling urban development both enhance the UHI effect.
• City contiguity should be considered when devising strategies for UHI intensity mitigation.
• More discontiguous city configurations, especially if achieved by introducing urban green spaces, will likely reduce UHIs.

 http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/09/18/the-urban-heat-island-uhi-is-mapped-in-major-u-s-cities/