Analytical Study on Impact of Urban Heat Island and its Potential Health Risk on Urban Dwellers of Major Cities of India

Mohan Krishnamurthy

Abstract: Urban built up area recording higher air temperature then its immediate rural-urban fringe (RUF) is known as Urban Heat Island (UHI). It is one of the major urban hazard facing many urban areas around the world. It is attributed to unplanned land use and land cover (LULC) changes perpetrated in the industrializing urban area which is dominated by low albedo heat-absorptive surfaces (such as dark pavement, walls, roofs, roads), heat-generating activities (such as automobile engines, power plants and generators) and the absence of vegetation, water bodies (which provides evaporative cooling). This paper seeks to understand the impact of UHI on the health of the Urban dwellers using the Heat Index and also identifies mitigation measures to check UHI in emerging urban areas.

Keywords: Urban Sprawl, Heat Index, Land Use and Land Cover (LULC), Urban Heat Island, Surface Urban Heat Island Intensity (SUHII), Urban Agglomeration, Rural-Urban fringe

How to Cite?: Mohan Krishnamurthy, "Analytical Study on Impact of Urban Heat Island and its Potential Health Risk on Urban Dwellers of Major Cities of India", Volume 14 Issue 1, January 2025, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 453-470, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR25109213925, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR25109213925