The urban heat island in a small city in coastal Portugal

This project arose from the need to study the phenomenon of the urban heat island, since only by recognising this phenomenon can we moderate it to imp rove the human and urban environments. Not only big cities develop urban he at islands. This study detected the presence and recorded the characteristi cs of an urban heat island in the small coastal city of Aveiro, Portugal. T he study was developed through the scheduled measurements of air temperatur e and the analysis of the geographical, meteorological and urban conditions . The form and intensity of Aveiro's heat island are a response to the inte raction of three principal factors: the urban morphology (the hottest zones in the city are those with the tallest and the highest density of building s, without green spaces and with intense generation of heat from traffic, c ommerce and services); the meteorological conditions (the intensity of the island is at its maximum when the sky is totally clear and there is no wind , and at its minimum in those situations when there is atmospheric instabil ity, such as wind, cloud and precipitation); and the proximity of the coast al lagoon (which borders the city to the west and northwest and moderates s easonal temperatures. The urban heat island influences the comfort and heal th of its inhabitants, thus urban planning is very important in the moderat ion and prevention of this phenomenon.