climate
type: Concept
narrower: heat island effect

concepts
type: Collection
type: ConceptGroup
member: heat island effect

heat island effect
type: Concept
broader: climate
definition: Heat islands occur when urban areas experience higher levels of thermal heating than adjacent exurban and rural areas. Cities that maintain a higher average temperature than their surroundings can be viewed as islands of heat surrounded by cooler, nonurban landscapes. [Source: Encyclopedia of Environment and Society; Heat Island Effect]