The Impact of Urban Heat Island on Cooling Needs in Urban and Suburban Areas of Hyderabad Sindh Pakistan

Abstract

The urban heat island phenomenon is causing numerous problems, and studying its effects in rapidly developing cities is crucial to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 14 for sustainable building and cities. This research focuses on investigating the characteristics of the Urban Heat Island in Hyderabad Sindh, specifically in a densely populated commercial area and a rural suburb known as TandoJam. The study utilized weather station data from the Pakistan Meteorological Department and temperature sensors from Qasimabad to compare air temperature differences between the urban and reference rural areas. The UHI intensity was determined by calculating the air temperature difference between urban and rural areas. Results showed that the UHI effect was more prominent during winter and nighttime than during summer and daytime, with only a few months, like June, showing some UHI effects during daytime. The study also used cooling degree days and cooling degree hours as a measure of energy required for cooling, and all areas observed higher numbers of CDDs and CDHs. However, urban areas had more CDDs than rural areas, indicating that the maximum cooling degree days in urban areas are a direct consequence of the UHI. The 7-year average data revealed that TandoJam experienced the least number of CDDs compared to its urban area, suggesting better thermal comfort in the rural area. The study’s findings were further validated through a day UHI analysis in the town of Qasimabad Hyderabad, which showed high CDHs and higher UHI intensity in Qasimabad than in other rural towns in Hyderabad.