BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW — We’ve had more than our fair share of summer warmth this year in Western New York. But have you ever noticed that it seems hotter in the city? There’s a reason for that, and it’s called the urban heat island effect.
Buffalo is still on pace to see one of its hottest summers on record, but that data comes from the Buffalo airport. If records were taken downtown, the temperatures would likely be higher because of the urban heat island. The urban heat island effect refers to the phenomenon where urban areas become significantly warmer than their rural surroundings primarily because of human activities.
Let’s look at what those factors may be by looking at a typical 85 degree summer day. Add the heat emitted from cars, buildings, and factories, the fact that asphalt and dark rooftops retain heat, and that concrete, instead of grass, reduces surface moisture and the high temperature in a downtown setting can be as much as six degrees higher than a location in the rural, grassy, countryside.
So now you know that cities are actually hotter on average than their countryside counterparts.
Got a weather question you’d like answered? E-mail me at weather@wkbw.com, and your weather question could be the subject of the next Josh’s Weather Academy.
