Heat pollution
Encyclopedia
Heat pollution is a term used to describe the release of heat into the environment by human activities. By contrast, global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...

 is thought to be the result of the increase in greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...

es ( emissions). Experts on the climate have debated the broader subject of global warming as well as its potential constituents. These include heat pollution, the greenhouse effect, and solar variation.

Urban heat island

Developed environments
Developed environments
Developed environments are environments in geography. Different kinds of developed lands are developed environments. The main developed environments are Urban, Suburban, Rural and Exurban communities....

 like concrete and black roads absorb and store heat more readily than natural land cover
Land Cover
Land cover is the physical material at the surface of the earth. Land covers include grass, asphalt, trees, bare ground, water, etc. There are two primary methods for capturing information on land cover: field survey and analysis of remotely sensed imagery....

 because of their heat capacity. The urban heat island phenomenon traps heat in thermal mass and is ultimately emitted back into the urban air especially at night. This hot city phenomenon has far-reaching environmental sustainability and human livability implications, ranging from the aggravation of health problems such as hyperthermia
Hyperthermia
Hyperthermia is an elevated body temperature due to failed thermoregulation. Hyperthermia occurs when the body produces or absorbs more heat than it can dissipate...

, increasing the intensity of urban air pollution, and contributing to extreme heat wave
Heat wave
A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity. There is no universal definition of a heat wave; the term is relative to the usual weather in the area...

s. Excess heat also adds to the ever-increasing use of air conditioners, with higher demands on the energy supply, potentially resulting in brownouts and higher greenhouse gas emissions.

Some causes of urban heat islands are the displacement of trees and vegetation to make way for development and even prevailing weather conditions. Heat from vehicles, manufacturing plants, and thermal power station
Thermal power station
A thermal power station is a power plant in which the prime mover is steam driven. Water is heated, turns into steam and spins a steam turbine which drives an electrical generator. After it passes through the turbine, the steam is condensed in a condenser and recycled to where it was heated; this...

s also contribute to excess heat in urban areas. Land use is a key attribute for the development of locally significant heat islands.
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