Study of green areas and urban heat island in a tropical city

Green areas in cities have been considered as potential measure in mitigating the urban heat island (UHI) effect. In this paper, a mobile survey was conducted to explore both the severity of UHI effect and cooling impacts of green areas at macro-level in Singapore. Islandwide temperature distribution was mapped relying on data derived from the mobile survey. This study has indicated a strong correlation between the decrease of temperature and the appearance of large green areas in the city. Although there is no distinct borderline between 'urban' and 'rural' areas in Singapore, maximum temperature difference of 4.01 degrees C was observed. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.