Urban Heat Islands

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release of heat tends to keep city
temperatures higher than those of the unpaved faster cooling areas.

On clear, still nights when the heat island is pronounced, a small thermal low-
pressure area forms over the city. Sometimes a light breeze, called a country
breeze which blows from the countryside into the city. If there are major
industrial areas along the city's outskirts, pollutants are carried into the
heart of town, where they tend to concentrate.

At night, the extra warmth of the city occasionally produces a shallow unstable
layer near the surface. Pollutants emitted from low-level sources, such as home
heating units, tend to concentrate in this shallow layer, often making the air
unhealthy to breathe.

The constant outpouring of pollutants into the environment may actually
influence the climate of a city. For an example, certain pollutants reflect
solar energy, thereby reducing the sunlight that reaches the surface. Some
particles serve as nuclei upon which water ...

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