Area of study

Wind Rose

Having Wind Speed > 5 km/h = 601 h/year Having Wind Speed > 12 km/h = 348 h/year Having Wind Speed > 19 km/h = 286 h/year Having Wind Speed > 28 km/h = 63 h/year

Figure 22.8: Wind Rose

Cities are home to about half of the world's population. As urban agglomerations develop and population movement from rural to urban/suburban regions continues, it is predicted that the worldwide pace of urbanisation will grow by 70% of the current world urban population by 2030. As a result, it is not unexpected that the negative effects of urbanisation are becoming a growing worry, grabbing the attention of people all over the globe. The creation of pollutants, the alteration of the physical and chemical characteristics of the atmosphere, and the covering of the soil surface all have a detrimental effect on the environment. The Urban Heat Island (UHI) is described as the increase in temperature of any man-made region, resulting in a well-defined, distinct "warm island" amid the "cool sea" represented by the lower temperature of the area's surrounding natural environment. Though heat islands may develop in any rural or urban location and at any spatial scale, cities are preferred because their surfaces are prone to releasing huge amounts of heat. Nonetheless, the UHI has a detrimental effect not just on inhabitants of urban-related surroundings, but also on people and their connected ecosystems in areas distant from cities. In reality, UHIs have been established. Vegetation intercepts sunlight and provides shade, both of which help to decrease urban heat emission. The reduction and fragmentation of large vegetated areas, such as parks, not only reduces these benefits, but also inhibits atmospheric cooling due to horizontal air circulation generated by the temperature gradient between vegetated and urbanised areas (i.e. advection), a phenomenon known as the park cool island effect. The tight layout of buildings along the city's streets, on the other hand, forms urban canyons that prevent reflected radiation from much of the three-dimensional urban surface from escaping to space. This radiation is eventually absorbed by the building walls (i.e. decreased sky view factor), increasing urban heat emission. Additional factors recognised as additionala are the scattered and emitted radiation from atmospheric pollutants to the urban area, the production of waste heat from air conditioning and refrigeration systems, as well as industrial processes and motorised vehicular traffic (i.e. anthropogenic heat), and the obstruction of rural air flows by the windward face of built-up surfaces.

Area of study

Vijayawada is a historical city in India's Andhra Pradesh state, located on the banks of the Krishna River at latitude 160311 N and longitude 800 391 E. The weather is tropical, with scorching summers and mild winters. The highest temperature in May-June is 47 degrees Celsius, while the winter temperature ranges from 20 to 270 degrees Celsius. The average humidity is 78%, and the yearly rainfall is 103 cm. Vijayawada receives rain from both the southwest and north-east monsoons. Vijayawada's terrain is flat, with a few tiny to medium-sized hills. It is also a significant