IIT Kharagpur study issues big 'urban heat islands' warning for Indian cities; read here

A team of researchers from IIT Kharagpur has found that most cities in country are turning into "urban heat islands" in all seasons during day and night, officials said.

In ir study, researchers from Centre for Oceans, Rivers, Atmosphere and Land Sciences (CORAL) of IIT-KGP and its Architecture and Regional Planning department showed that most big cities in country with population more than one million have recorded rise in mercury level during daytime while showing an increasing trend in night hours.

study, 'Anthropogenic forcing exacerbating urban heat islands in India', ted that relatively warmer temperatures in urban areas, compared to suburbs, have potential health hazards due to heat waves apart from pollution, an IIT KGP statement said on Friday.

"Our research is a detailed and careful analysis of urban heat islands of India, which is difference between urban and surrounding rural land surface temperatures, across all seasons in 44 major cities from 2001 to 2017," Professor Arun Chakraborty, one of researchers, said.

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He furr said, "For first time, we have found evidence of mean daytime temperature of Surface Urban Heat Island (UHI Intensity) going up to 2C for most cities, as analysed from satellite temperature measurements in monsoon and post-monsoon periods."

In Kolkata, Pune and Guwahati where urban areas are surrounded by large green cover in suburban regions, re is "an enhanced cooling effect on surface" in suburban areas during daytime as against cities in arid regions, researchers said.

"Evidence from our study suggests that more green s within city and its boundary could reduce temperature in city and its neighbourhood,"co-author of paper Prof. Jayanarayanan Kuttippurath said.

Conservation and expansion of green areas, and preservation of water bodies in and around cities could be an effective strategy to curb effects of urban heat islands, he said.

construction of buildings and infrastructure with eco-friendly materials could also prove to be crucial to mitigate effects of heat islands, he said. 

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