Quantification of the influence of wind and cloud on the nocturnal urban heat island of a large city

Abstract

Analyses taken over all observed weather conditions of daily 0600 EST climate data from a network of monitoring stations in and around the large city of Melbourne, Australia, revealed a 20-yr mean urban heat island (UHI) value of 1.13°C. The UHI varied seasonally between summer (1.29°C), spring (1.25°C), autumn (1.02°C), and winter (0.98°C). Investigations undertaken with daily wind speed and cloud amount data enabled a detailed investigation of the relative importance of factors such as the turbulent and radiative exchanges on Melbourne's UHI. Analysis of variance and regression techniques were used to explore these processes and to predict the behavior of the UHI in numerical terms for mea..