New York Weather News - Jeff's Weather Blog

Do you ever notice how the temperature in the city is so much hotter than surrounding areas? It's certainly not rocket science to figure out that asphalt and concrete soak in the suns radiation and keep it warm during the night. This provides an extra layer of heat. NASA is using space technology to find heat sectors and figure out ways to make them cooler. In New York, warmer air temperatures make a big impact on air quality and public health. It also increases the demand for energy. My friend Stephen, who works at ConEd communicated to me that we were at over 12,000 gigawatts of power last week during the heat wave. That's a lot of energy to cool down the city. In New York, the extra warmth is coined " the urban heat island effect".
It is caused by the large number of buildings, sidewalks and other surfaces that limit green growt such as grass and trees. Surfaces with green areas offer high moisture levels that cool the air when the moisture evaporates from soil and plants. In a recent project by NASA, researchers set out to make recommendations to officials on ways to reduce the urban heat island effect in New York City. They used a computer-based regional climate model to analyze the heat island effect in New York City and measure ways to reduce it by using light-colored surfaces that reflect sunlight; planting "urban forests," including vegetation at street level; and creating "living roofs" on top of buildings where sturdy vegetation can be planted and thrive.

Above: A thermal satellite image of New York City captured by NASA's Landsat satellite on August 14, 2002 at 10:30 a.m., shows the locations of the warmest air temperatures as seen in red. The blue indicates areas with cooler air temperatures.