Urban Heat Island Effect- An overview with Emphasis on Increased Energy consumption.

Abstract

The urban sector is emerging as a major concern globally leading to multidimensional problems in the form of environmental pollution, increase in carbon footprint and energy consumption, and issues relating to lack of compatible urban planning, water resources, excessive concreting, and so on so forth. An increase in the urban population associated with consumer demand and lifestyle has aggravated the problem to a greater extent. The paper has highlighted one of the significant concerns leading to an increase in energy consumption coupled with an increase in carbon footprint.  The author has tried to identify the causal factors leading to urban heat islands. These predominant contributing factors can be classified as a reduction of natural urban air ventilation, increase in concreting to the non-concreting urban surface and horizontal to vertical expansion, lack of carrying capacity based on urban developmental coupled with many other factors. The present paper attempts to analyze the causes and impacts of the urban heat island effect on a broad scale & thus establish the co-relation of the same as a contributor to the increased energy consumption. The study highlights that there are considerable gaps in the research done & urgent actions have to be taken for creating a sustainable environment.

Keywords: Urban heat island, overview, causes, emergence, Energy consumption.