Energy and Buildings, 1 5 .
1 6 (1990/91) 245 - 252
Effect of Heat Islands over Urban Madras and M e a s u r e s for its Mitigation
S. DAVID SUNDERSINGH
Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee 247 667 (India)
ABSTRACT
In India the study of urban climate and its
influences on urban planning and building cli-
matology is a newly emerging area for detailed
studies. This vast inter-disciplinary study en-
compasses such disciplines as meteorology, ur-
ban planning, architecture, 'building physics,
landscape, land-use studies using remote-
sensing, etc.
This paper will discuss a heat island case
study over urban Madras and its neighbour-
hood based on surface temperature, humidity
and wind data collected from 77 points using
mobile observations. Besides these measure-
ments, additional information about the
three-dimensional structure of the temper-
ature distribution from special radiosonde-
radiowind ascents was also taken in two obser-
vatories representing suburban and urban
areas of the metropolis. The paper will also
broadly discuss the mitigation measures and
the future line of action of research in the area
of urban climate and building climatology in
India.
INTRODUCTION TO THE METROPOLIS OF MADRAS
Madras is a city located on the eastern
coastline of India with a tropical climate. The
latitude of Madras is 13° N while its longitude
is 80 ° E. The topography of the metropolis is
uniformly flat, a few metres above the mean
sea-level and with a uniform yearly climate.
The maximum temperature ever. recorded is
45 °C and the minimum recorded was 13.9 °C.
The mean monthly maxima for the months
January, May, August and November are
20.6 °C, 38.5 °C, 34.9 °C and 29.7 °C while the
mean monthly minima for the same months
are 19.5 °C, 27.6 °C, 25.5 °C and 22.2 °C. The
wind directions in the morning for the same
245
four months are NW/NE, S/SW, SW/W and
NW/NE, and in the evening are NE/E, SE/S,
SE/S and NE/N. The mean wind speeds for the
above months are 17.7km/h, 18.9km/h,
17.22 km/h and 19.79 km/h.
The daily pattern of climate is tropical in
nature with the mornings very pleasant, the
temperature steadily rises until about 14:00
with sultry weather, and the relief from the
sea breeze off-setting the oppressive climate
by 14:30 until late evening when the land
breeze takes over and blows towards the sea
in the early hours of the morning. This pat-
tern is the same throughout the year, except
for the cool months of December and January.
In the month of May the most severe heat is
experienced in the city during the 'Dog days'
with the sun close to the star of Sirius or the
Dog Star. Owing to the city's closeness to the
sea, the humidity is always high in the eight-
ies and nineties and relief from the oppressive
climate comes only in the early afternoon
when the sea breeze sets in.
HISTORIC BACKGROUND OF THE METROPOLIS
The metropolis of Madras is a compari-
tively new city and owes its genesis to Andrew
Cogan and Francis Day of the British East
India Company. The settlement was founded
nearly three and a half centuries ago. Figure 1
gives the present map of Madras metropolis
and its neighbourhood and an overview of
industrial areas, commercial areas, highly
populated areas, open spaces and recreational
areas.
The development of Madras metropolis was
very rapid between the 1960s and 1980s, but
the city also has the dubious distinction of
unplanned growth which, if continued, would
have disastrous effects on the rural economy
and environment. The proper application of
Elsevier Sequoia/Printed in The Netherlands
246
• ] Route No1
Route No, 2
~'~ Route No.3
E~ City Limit
m Industry
m Commerc~l
Open Space 8, Recreoth:
k~ Hi~JhlyPopulated Areo
/ studies, the existence of warm pockets and
/:
/ 0.6 °C to 11 °C. The intensity, size, shape and
/
/
/ position of warm pockets depend upon the
/i .......... • .....
Fig. 1. Madras city with survey routes.
urban climatology in land use, urbanization
studies and building design suited climatically
to Madras can contribute to the environment
and other social and economic benefits. In
spite of much urbanization in Madras, unlike
other metropolitan cities such as Calcutta,
Bombay and Delhi, the city is still open to the
skies and in some ways still presents an ap-
pearance of a small town that has just kept
spreading. If the urbanization is checked and
regulated properly, it can still continue to
maintain its environmental qualities.
NEED FOR STUDY OF URBAN CLIMATE
The study of urban climate is a relatively
recent field of climatology. It has developed as
a result of man-made causes and is mainly due
to the ills of urbanization. Studies in various
parts of the developed world have established
beyond doubt t h a t urbanization causes
changes in the atmosphere immediately adja-
cent. In general, almost all the meteorological
parameters such as temperature, humidity
wind, rainfall and net radiation are all
modified due to urbanization. The fact that
some places are warmer in a city than its
surroundings forming a heat island, while
some pockets are cool has been well known.
But assessing the true nature and recording it
has been the prime motive of this study.
EARLIER STUDIES OVER INDIA
Mapping of urban temperature fields was
undertaken perhaps for the first time in India
during 1973 over the industrial city of Pune
[1, 2]. A similar study was also undertaken
over the metropolitan city of Bombay in 1973
[3]. Heat island studies were conducted over
Delhi in 1977 and 1979 [4-6]. In all the above
cool pools has indicated the magnitude of the
heat island intensities which varied from
topography, urban morphology, proximity to
large water bodies, patches of vegetation and
wind speed prevailing over the urban situa-
tions under study.
HEAT ISLANDS STUDY OVER MADRAS
The study was based on surface tempera-
ture, humidity and wind data collected from
77 points over a period of eight days in and
around Madras using mobile observations.
The temperature surveys were conducted dur-
ing and around the minimum temperature
epoch, when clear skies, light winds and poor
dispersion conditions prevailed. It was neces-
sary that simultaneous observations were
made at the various points. Three mobile
teams conducted the observations of tempera-
ture, humidity and wind on three different
routes (Fig. 1) using portable wind anemome-
ters, wind vanes for wind speed and direction,
and whirling psychrometers for dry-bulb and
wet-bulb and humidity calculations.
THE OBSERVATIONS
The observations were made between 03:00-
07:00 on the following eight days: J a n u a r y 28,
29, 30, 31, 1987, February 3, 4, 16, and 17, 1987.
Figures 2 - 9 show the isothermal patterns ob-
 247

N N

'\

~E SCALE
o I 2 3
I ~ [ j KM
DATE ~" 28 I. ET DATE ~" 30.1.67
TIME 03000 -OT00 AM TIME ~- 030O-OTO0
DRY BULB TEMP. "C DRY BUL~ TEMP "C

] . _ CKET ] WARM POCKET

COOL POCKET
] COOL POCKET

Fig. 2. Isothermal pattern of January 28, 1987. Fig. 4. Isothermal pattern of January 30, 1987.

Fig. 3. Isothermal pattern of January 29, 1987. Fig. 5. Isothermal pattern of January 31, 1987.
248

oSCAL
E2 3
I I ~ I KM
OATE " 16 2 07
TIME 0300 -0700 AM "~
DRY BULB TEMP 'C

B WARM POCKET
22-0
] COOL POCKET

./

Fig. 6. Isothermal pattern of February 3, 1987. Fig. 8. Isothermal pattern of February 16, 1987.

s e r v e d on the e i g h t days. T h e difference be-

N
t w e e n the h e a t islands a n d cool p o c k e t s is
w i t h i n 2.5 °C on J a n u a r y 28, 1987 (Fig. 2), a n d
the m a x i m u m difference was noticed on
F e b r u a r y 17, 1987, w h e n it was 4 °C. T h e iso-
\
22.0 h u m e s of e a c h of the eight days w e r e also
r e c o r d e d a n d the p a t t e r n s were similar; only
one, Fig. 10, s h o w e d the i s o h u m e s for Febru-
a r y 17, 1989, h a d b e e n appended. Special ra-
d i o s o n d e a s c e n t s w e r e also m a d e on the s a m e
days f r o m t w o p e r m a n e n t o b s e r v a t i o n posts in
SCALE the metropolis at Nungambakkam and
M e e n a m b a k k a m r e p r e s e n t i n g the u r b a n a n d
DATE :- & 2 87
TIME 03CO-0700 A~ s u b u r b a n areas. T h e r a d i o s o n d e a s c e n d s with
DRY BULB TEMP*C
a slow r a t e of a s c e n t of a b o u t 7 k m / h . The
a s c e n t s w e r e also m a d e only up to a h e i g h t of
] . , B . Poc,,T
3 k m utilizing special low-level sondes w h i c h
I COOL POCKEt e x p a n d e d w i t h p r e s s u r e scales.

THE STUDY FINDINGS

I e
Fig. 7. Isothermal pattern of February 4, 1987.
A close e x a m i n a t i o n of Figs. 2 - 9 i n d i c a t e s
t h a t the i s o t h e r m s t e n d to r u n p a r a l l e l to the
coast, p e r h a p s as a r e s u l t of the m a r i t i m e
effect. A p a r t f r o m the g e n e r a l p a t t e r n of the

Fig. 9. Isothermal pattern of urban Madras on February
17, 1987.
isotherms, the establishment of heat islands
over the built-up and congested areas are
clearly indicated. Analysis of the temperature
pattern on all eight days indicates consistency
showing the location of heat islands at almost
the same places during the eight days though
there are slight day-to-day variations in the
extent of the heat pockets.
It is also interesting to note that the survey
has highlighted the cooler land temperatures
adjoining the well-ventilated and compara-
tively open areas. One distinct large cold
pocket is seen in the area near the south end
of the metropolis which has considerable veg-
ative cover and vast open areas. Interestingly,
Fig. 10 isohumes show a high humidity
pocket just in the same location and indicate
a pattern opposite to that of the isotherms,
which shows maximum humidity values over
the interior and decreasing towards the coast.
Also the heat pockets in general correspond-
ingly show a minimum humidity value while
the cool pools show higher humidity values.
The pockets of vegetation in relation to the
249
, s c ~ L¢ 3
? i • = K~
TtME~ 0300- 0700AM
R.H %
Fig. 10. Isohumes of February 17, 1987.
metropolis are shown in Fig. 11 for easy com-
parison and it may be seen from the survey
findings t h a t vegetation can have a moderat-
ing influence (Fig. 12) caused by the effects of
heat islands.
Upper air temperature observations within
the city clearly indicate that the air over the
urban area is much warmer than over the
observatory located in a suburban location in
the planetary boundary layer within 1.5 km. It
was also observed that at about a height of
1 km, the direct effect of heating from an
urban area disappears and instead the air
becomes cooler than the suburban neighbour-
hood [7].
URBAN STUDIES USING REMOTE-SENSING
It is always interesting to know the present
state of spread of a metropolis, The land-use
map or the detailed map does not a l w a y s show
the trend of sprawl of the metropolis. Only
remote-sensing can give a correct interpreta-
250

ns 19'
N

Fig. 13. Land-use map of Bombay metropolitan region.

Fig. 11. U r b a n Madras showing pockets of vegetation.

tion of the sprawl and sprawl characteristics.

9° =
Figure 13 shows the land-use map of Bombay
metropolitan region and gives the breakup of
the land uses, whereas Fig. 14 shows data
remotely sensed and analysed, the areas good
for construction, fair for construction, poor
for construction and good for conservation, 19"
,3
and very poor for construction and very good
for conservation [8]. This sort of study, if done
over the metropolis of Madras, can present
and paint the correct picture of the state of
urban sprawl and where the corrective mea-
sures can be made to interact beneficially.
Such a study is necessary for the metropo-
lis. Besides the daytime imageries, a thermal
imagery on a cold winter night will present

18° 18°

BL BUILT-UP LAND
72°1 ~,S" 73" I O' 73DI IS'
L___ city ) River I Forest J FarmLand I
Fig. 14. U r b a n land-use zoning map of Bombay metropoli-
Fig. 12. Vegetation has a cooling effect in hot climates. tan region.
 251

the urban heat islands much better than the Moisture Transpired
from Leaves
present methodology which used mobile in-
struments over multiple points. Remote-sens-
ing techniques should always be used in
Air
combination with ground studies to give the
right perspective of the study. Remote-sensing
is a powerful tool and can be successfully used
for future climate studies of urban centres.

MITIGATION MEASURES FOR URBAN HEAT FILTRATION/AIR WASHER

Plants reduce air pollutants through the p r o c e s s of air w a s h i n g
ISLANDS

Especially for tropical climates, as in the

present study, the cool pockets will have to be
^ /4 d e n Air
planned and introduced within the urban heat
islands to mitigate and offset the problems of
heat build-up in certain congested locations.
The metropolis, being close to the sea, should
have such development control rules which
can facilitate proper ventilation of spaces and
prevent residential multi-storey development
REODOR I ZATION
along the coastal side of the metropolis. The
urban canyon effect should be utilized benefi- Fig. 16. Trees can reduce unpleasant odours either by
cially by designing the canyons in such a way absorption of gaseous pollutants or by masking them with
their own odours,
that more parts of the metropolis can be venti-
lated. The reason for heat build-up in the heat
islands is also due to poor ventilation. Artifi-
cial mounds should be created at crucial
points of the metropolis with planned vegeta-
tion, especially in the pockets of heat islands
where the air can be induced to dip to allevi-
ate the hot sultry conditions. Some of the

PLANTS CONTROL

Noise Source : Shopping Center Pedestrian Sounds

Planting : Deciduous Planting
Noise Reduction : 25%

PLANTS CAN REDUCE SOUND IN DOWFNTOW~ U R B A N AREAS

ON FgiO
. XygEnB
ir17.
alAri Proposed'~Yu~"~'°"schematicforDiluti°"air
pollution abatement

by plants through the processes of oxygenation and dilu-

Fig. 15. Plants benefit man by controlling solar radiation, tion.
252
effects of v e g e t a t i o n on the u r b a n s c e n a r i o are
s h o w n on Figs. 14 - 17 w h i c h c a n be utilized to
p r o m o t e a h e a l t h y a n d c l e a n e n v i r o n m e n t [9].
FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS
(1) R e s e a r c h studies on q u a n t i f i c a t i o n of
h o w m u c h v e g e t a t i o n c a n b r i n g d o w n the h e a t
island i n t e n s i t y by 1 °C are to be assessed.
(2) F u t u r e u r b a n c e n t r e s s h o u l d be p l a n n e d
for v e g e t a t i o n first in o r d e r to h a v e a n opti-
m u m mix of built-up l a n d v e r s u s v e g e t a t i o n .
T h e g e s t a t i o n p e r i o d of s u c h f u t u r e u r b a n
c e n t r e s s h o u l d be a t l e a s t 1 5 - 2 5 years.
(3) F u t u r e u r b a n c e n t r e s s h o u l d a v o i d all
the c o m m o n f a u l t s f o u n d in, for example, Cal-
c u t t a w h i c h is a city a p p r o a c h i n g 10 million
a n d the p e r c e n t a g e of r o a d a r e a is o n l y 8%
w h e r e a s , ideally, it s h o u l d be a r o u n d 15%.
This also is the r e a s o n for the p o l l u t i o n prob-
lems c a u s e d due to traffic c o n g e s t i o n d u r i n g
p e a k hours.
(4) T h e a u t o m o b i l e of t h e g a s o l i n e type
s h o u l d be slowly e a s e d o u t of f u t u r e u r b a n
c e n t r e s a n d n o n - p o l l u t i n g electric cars or bi-
cycles s h o u l d be used. Use of bicycles will
make people more healthy and productive and
r e l i e v e a lot of stress p r o b l e m s faced by the
a u t o m o b i l e society. But, of course, the u n i t of
p l a n n i n g s h o u l d be small a n d easily a p p r o a c h -
able by bicycles. W h i c h m e a n s smaller,
c l e a n e r u r b a n c e n t r e s w i t h m u c h h i g h e r levels
of purified air by p r o p e r l y p l a n n e d v e g e t a t i o n .
(5) I n d i a c a n n o t afford to m a k e all the
m i s t a k e s of u r b a n i z a t i o n . It will h a v e to s e e k
a b e t t e r way, m o r e like China, w h i c h s h o u l d
be a b e t t e r p l a c e e n v i r o n m e n t a l l y t h a n m o s t
i n d u s t r i a l i z e d countries. F o u r cities in I n d i a
will cross the 10 million m a r k by the y e a r
2000. T h e s t r a t e g y for the p r o p e r s p r e a d of
u r b a n i z a t i o n should be to p l a n 400 s m a l l e r
more-efficient u r b a n centres, t h u s a v o i d i n g
m a n y of the p r o b l e m s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h u r b a n -
ization today. The s o l u t i o n m a y s o u n d imprac-
tical b u t m a y be r e a l i s t i c if c o n c e i v e d a n d
e x e c u t e d with b o t h the g o v e r n m e n t a n d peo-
ple w o r k i n g t o w a r d s a c h i e v i n g the ideal ur-
b a n e n v i r o n m e n t a l c l i m a t e s u i t a b l e for a
g i v e n location, w i t h living styles m o r e in t u n e
w i t h n a t u r e t h a n at present.
REFERENCES
1 S. J. Maske, P. G. Krishnanand, A. Behere and S. D.
Kachare, Characteristics of Heat Islands at Pune, IMD
P P S R No. 78/12, 1978.
2 B. Padmanabhamurty, Isotherms and isohumes in
Pune on clear winter nights, Mausam, 30 (1979) 134-
138.
3 A. K. Mukherjee and C. E. J. Daniel, Temperature
distribution over Bombay during cold nights, Indian J.
Meteorol Geoph., 27 (1976) 37-41.
4 P. G. Krishnanand and S. J. Maske, Mean Heat Island
Intensities at Delhi Assessed from Urban Climatologi-
cal Data, IMD P P S R No. 78/13, 1978.
5 H. D. Bahl and B. Padmanabhamurty, Heat.island
studies at Delhi, Mausam, 30 (1979) 119- 122.
6 B. Padmanabhamurty and H. D. Bahl, Some physieal
features of heat and humidity islands at Delhi,
Mausam, 33 (1982) 211 - 216.
7 N. Jayanthi, Heat Island Study over Madras City and
Neighbourhood, Regional Meteorological Centre,
Madras, July 1988.
8 Remote Sensing Applieations Miss on Monitoring
Urban Sprawl, Space Applications Centre (ISRO),
Ahmedabad and Bombay Metropolitan Region Devel-
opment Authority, Bombay, January 1989.
9 W. G. Grey and J. F. Deneke, Urban Forestry, John
Wiley, New York, 1978.