Limited role of absolute humidity in intraurban heat variability

Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology
By: , and 

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Abstract

Monitoring and understanding the variability of heat within cities is important for urban planning and public health, and the number of studies measuring intraurban temperature variability is growing. Recognizing that the physiological effects of heat depend on humidity as well as temperature, measurement campaigns have included measurements of relative humidity alongside temperature. However, the role the spatial structure in humidity, independent from temperature, plays in intraurban heat variability is unknown. Here we use summer temperature and humidity from networks of stationary sensors in multiple cities in the United States to show spatial variations in the absolute humidity within these cities are weak. This variability in absolute humidity plays an insignificant role in the spatial variability of the heat index and humidity index (humidex), and the spatial variability of the heat metrics is dominated by temperature variability. Thus, results from previous studies that considered only intraurban variability in temperature will carry over to intraurban heat variability. Also, this suggests increases in humidity from green infrastructure interventions designed to reduce temperature will be minimal. In addition, a network of sensors that only measures temperature is sufficient to quantify the spatial variability of heat across these cities when combined with humidity measured at a single location, allowing for lower-cost heat monitoring networks.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Limited role of absolute humidity in intraurban heat variability
Series title Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology
DOI 10.1175/JAMC-D-23-0096.1
Volume 62
Issue 12
Year Published 2023
Language English
Publisher American Meteorological Society
Contributing office(s) Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
Description 10 p.
First page 1845
Last page 1854
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