What Is an Urban Heat Island?

Provided by: NASA Climate Kids |Published on: October 18, 2021

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Synopsis

This page describes urban heat islands, the process of transpiration in plants, the difference in light absorption in dark and light materials, and the relationship between vegetation and temperatures in cities.

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Subjects: Science, Social Studies

Authors: NASA Climate Kids

Region: Global

Languages: English

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Teaching Materials

Positives

This simple text is accompanied by clear illustrations.
There are seven bold vocabulary words on this page that students could add to a vocabulary list or vocabulary notebook: urban heat island, urban, rural, transpiration, absorb, reflect, and impervious.

Prerequisites

There is a side by side map of New York City showing areas of vegetation and average temperatures that students could use to see the difference plants make to outdoor temperature.

Differentiation & Implementation

Science students can read this when learning about plants and photosynthesis or light energy and the electromagnetic spectrum.
Students could also watch this video about painting roofs white in New York City to reflect sunlight.
Students could explore an interactive map showing cities in the U.S. that are eliminating parking mandates for residential and commercial buildings. Parking mandates create more parking spots in cities, exacerbating the urban heat island effect.
You can take your students outside to see the urban heat island in action. This looks different depending on the location of your school.
- If you are in a city, you can take your class to a park and then to a place with a lot of hardscape. You can have your students measure the temperature in both places using a thermometer.
- If you are not in a city, you may be able to get similar results from taking temperature readings on a road or parking lot and then comparing it to a place with more vegetation.

Scientist Notes

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What Is an Urban Heat Island?

Synopsis

Teaching Materials

Scientist Reviewed

Related Teaching Resources