Figure 1. UHI types and methodologies on measuring the urban heat island.

(source:voogt,2018)
Figure 2. conceptual structure of urban atmosphere. (a) Urban region city scale. (b) Local
scale(c) street canyon scale.

Shaded areas show the location of different types of UHI. (Source, Oke T.R.)
Figure 3. map and traverse route in colon. (source: Google Earth)
Figure 4. Map of Lawaan, Cebu City. (source Google earth)
 Figure 4 Map of the rural Lawaan area in Talisay City. (Source:

Google Earth®)

Table 1 Elevation and Distance to shoreline between Colon

(urban) and Lawaan (rural) area
Distance
to
Elevation shoreline
Location (M) (M) Latitude Longitude

Colon 7.62 700 10°17'52.11"N 123°54'7.22"E

Lawaan 22.2 2800 10°15'35.03"N 123°54'7.22"E

3. METHODOLOGY.(Materials and method)

The mobile traverse method was used in this study to investigate the UHI
phenomenon of the City of Cebu, particularly the old commercial district
of Colon. The data on air temperature were collected on ten occasions
using mobile traverse surveys during the summer month of May 12-23
2016 between 2000-2100 hours, which the differences between the urban
and rural temperatures are at their highest (Gómez et al. 1993,
Tereshchenko and Filonov 2001). The summer month was chosen since
studies in literature showed that UHI is stronger during the summer
months when the air is warmer and UHI is presumed to be higher during
nighttime than during the day (Arnfield, 2003). The month of May was
also being considered because it is the warmest month in Cebu with an
average temperature of 30.0°C (Figure 5). The route of this study was
designed to sample across the urban (Colon) to rural (Lawaan) area. In
this study, Colon was chosen to represent the urban are and Lawaan was
chosen as the rural area. In order to determine the UHI quantitatively the
surface or the air temperature differences of areas classified as urban
(Colon) against an area classified as rural (Lawaan) were being
measured. The air temperature and the humidity was collected using an
Extech Hygro-thermometer SD500 datalogger, which has a temperature
range of 0.0-50.0°C, resolution of 0.1% and with an accuracy of ±0.8°C.
The relative humidity has a range of 70-90%, resolution of 0.1% and with
an accuracy of ±4% (of reading) + 1% RH. The instrument was mounted
on top of a vehicle with a height of 1.55 m from the ground and 1.6 m
away from the car engine. Wind speed data was also being collected using
a portable digital anemometer at a height of 1.55 m from the ground.
Mobile data measurements were collected along the defined route (Figure
3). The route began from the Colon obelisk marker, which is considered
the starting point of Colon Street, towards the intersection of Panganiban
Street. The overall total length of this traverse was roughly 1.15
kilometers long. The mobile route was retracted back to Pari-an so that
the average temperature and humidity data could be made of the entire
path. An average of 25 temperature and humidity reading was taken from
a single travel path. This system was being generated to get a more
accurate temporal adjustment of the temperature and humidity change
rates over the study area. The temperature recorder was set to log
temperature and humidity along with the time stamp automatically at 30
second intervals. The vehicle was driven at an average speed of ±20
km/hr. For each scheduled measurement taken, meteorological conditions
were also noted (wind velocity, cloud cover) as this will also have an
impact on the air temperature data. Ideally, measurements should be
carried out simultaneously, but since this is impossible using the mobile
measurement techniques (Conrads and Van der Hage 1971), the only
option was to do the measurements as quick as possible. The sampling
difference between the first (Colon Street, Cebu City) and the last point
(Lawaan, Talisay City) was less than 25 minutes.
4. PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS and INTERPRETATION OF DATA.

Results and Discussions.

One of the main objectives of this study is to determine the maximum

and minimum UHI during the night as well as linking the UHI to the
location of the nearest water body between two locations. During the
survey, the weather conditions ranged from clear skies to cloudy with
winds equal to or less than 1 m/s. The less than 25 minutes travel to the
rural site (i.e., Lawaan) during the night was also appropriate. This was
possible considering that the study was done during the summer time
where traffic is still light to moderate. Overall mean temperature
difference between Colon and Lawaan was ∆T =1.17°C. This value is still
considered moderate as compared to other existing Asian cities. The
highest ∆T between the two areas was recorded on May 13, 2016 at
∆T=2.20 °C while the lowest ∆T was recorded on May 15, 2016 at
∆T=.30 °C. It appeared that the distance to the nearest shoreline was
not significantly correlated with UHI. As shown in table 1, elevation might
have contributed to the lesser ∆T of Lawaan. This agreed with the study
of Giannaros et al. (2012) who found that elevation was a major factor in
determining the lowest temperature contrast between two different
stations in the coastal city of Thessaloniki, Greece. It is possible that the
current population between the Colon and Lawaan may not be as dense
as compared to other Asian cities where land areas are already limited. In
one study, Steeneveld (2011) discussed how UHI is better correlated with
population density since higher population density requires higher building
density leading to enhanced radiation trapping and high thermal inertia.
Population will be a significant predictor of UHI for Cebu City once it
reaches its peak of development. While there are also temporal-related
factors that may correlate well with the UHI, these factors can be
collected in future samplings as more stations will be identified and more
self-recording thermal instruments can be securely and strategically
placed in different parts of the city.
Table 2. (A) The Mean Temperature Value collected during the
initial study. (Source data from National Statistical Coordination
board)

Colon Lawaan Mean

Mean Wind
Mean Mean Temperatur Mean spee
Date
Temperature Humidity e Humidity d ∆T (u-
(2019)

°C % °C % m/s °C

0.3
Mar 10 31.20 71.60% 30.4 72.90% m/s 0.80

0.3
m/s
Mar 11 31.50 62.40% 29.3 69.80% 2.20

0 m/s

Mar 12 31.20 64.00% 30.3 67.00% 0.90

0.1
m/s
Mar 13 30.00 75.00% 29.7 74.70% 0.30

0.0
m/s
Mar 14 31.20 66.10% 29.6 76.70% 1.60

0.0
m/s
Mar 15 32.40 59.40% 30.3 67.00% 2.10

2.1
m/s
Mar 16 31.20 71.10% 30.4 75.00% 0.80
 Relative Humidity
Date
Mar 29- 30
Colon Lawaan
% %

Mar 29. 8pm-10pm 70.% 71.60%

10pm to 12 am. 71.50% 67.40%

March 30. 12am to 2am. 60% 64.00%

2am to 4am. 59% 59%

Table 3. showing relative humidity. (source. Taken from a car humidity reading)
5 CONCLUSIONS and RECOMMENDATIONS.
The study showed the presence of UHI phenomenon in the City of Cebu
using the mobile transects method. This study also showed initial
evidence that the Colon area in Cebu City is slowly developing its own
urban heat climate. Even though Colon is located in a coastal area, the
cooling effect of the coastal waters may only exert a limited influence in
moderating the urban microclimate. The dense built up of buildings,
traffic, the lack of green spaces, human activities, urban morphology and
meteorological conditions related to climate change, among others, may
significantly contribute more heat stress to rapidly developing urban
centers such as Colon. A more extended study to include other variables
currently not included in this initial study is therefore necessary to
mitigate the various effects of the urban heat island. We also recommend
urban planners and designers to take into account the importance of open
green spaces to reduce the development of the urban heat island. The
health and comfort of the people must be considered as an objective in
urban development studies in Cebu City. No doubt as the city grows, so
too will the effects of UHI. Various mitigations are effective in reducing
the UHI but implementations must be careful because different solutions
are unique in each city.
Some examples of various mitigations are, using energy produced
from renewable resources improves air , planting more trees in
between the streets for green space and also reduce the use of
fosil fuels.