Impact of Green Roofs on Hot and Humid Climate-Vijayawada

SUBMITTED:- S.R.S.SANTHOSH KUMAR REDDY

1130100376
SECTION-A
SPA-VIJAYAWADA
WHY VIJAYAWADA?

Vijayawada, a rapidly growing city is considered as a case study in which large amounts of area with
greenery reconverted in to built up surfaces. Land use land cover changes and conversion of greenery in to
built up surfaces lead to development of high land surface temperatures.
Land sat satellite images of 2001 and 2014 are used for this study. A total area of 85515.75 hectares was
taken as study area. After processing the imagery, thermal bands study area was clipped. Thermal band of
Landsat images of 2001 and 2014 were used to estimate land surface temperature(LST) image using thermal
module of IDRISI Selva.
The output LST images of 2001and 2014 shows temperature ranges from 24-39C.
The total area has been divided into two categories high temperature and low temperature according to the
temperature ranges. The low temperature range is between 24 to 30C and high temperature range is
between 30 to 39C. The area with high temperature in the year 2001is 31104.8hectares and the area with
low temperature is 54410.9hectares. The area with high temperature in 2014 is 47502.2 and the low
temperature is 38013.6. The images of land surface temperature convey that urban LST not only increases but
the area with high temperature also got increased significantly. This will affect the comfort of the city
dwellers and suitable measures are to be taken to mitigate this URBAN HEAT ISLAND development.

International Journal of Innovative Research in Advanced Engineering (IJIRAE) ISSN: 2349-2163

Issue 3, Volume 2 (March 2015).
STUDY ON URBAN SURFACE TEMPERATURE CHANGES OF VIJAYAWADA CITY USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS
URBAN HEAT ISLAND

Around half of the worlds human population lives in

urban areas. In the near future it is expected that the
global rate of urbanization will increase by 70% of the
present world urban population by 2030, as urban
agglomerations emerge and population migration
from rural to urban/suburban areas continues.
Urbanization negatively impacts the environment
mainly by the production of pollution, the
modification of the physical and chemical properties
of the atmosphere, and the covering of the soil
surface. Considered to be a cumulative effect of all
these impacts is the Urban Heat Island (UHI), defined
Figure 1. Source : EPA, 2008
as the rise in temperature of any man-made area.

International Journal of Innovative Research in Advanced Engineering (IJIRAE) ISSN: 2349-2163

Issue 3, Volume 2 (March 2015).
STUDY ON URBAN SURFACE TEMPERATURE CHANGES OF VIJAYAWADA CITY USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS
LAND SURFACE TEMPARATURE-VIJAYAWADA

Cyan colour resembles very low temperature

within range 24-26C and reflects low
temperature
Grey coloured class has temperature in
between 27-28C and resembles low
temperature.
Yellow coloured class has temperature in
between 29-30 C and resembles moderate
temperature.
Orange coloured class has temperature in
between 31-44 C and resembles high
temperature
Red colour class is the very high
temperature class values ranging from 34-39C.

International Journal of Innovative Research in Advanced Engineering (IJIRAE) ISSN: 2349-2163

Issue 3, Volume 2 (March 2015).
STUDY ON URBAN SURFACE TEMPERATURE CHANGES OF VIJAYAWADA CITY USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS
 STUDY AREA

Vijayawada is a historical city situated at the geographical centre of Andhra Pradesh state in India on the banks
of Krishna River with latitude 160311 N and longitude 800 391 E. The climate is tropical, with hot summers and
moderate winters. The peak temperature reaches 47 C in May-June, while the winter temperature is 20-270 C.
The average humidity is 78% and the average annual rainfall is 103 cm. Vijayawada gets its rainfall from both the
southwest monsoon and north-east monsoon. The topography of Vijayawada is flat, with a few small to medium
sized hills. It is also a major railway junction connecting all states in the country. Vijayawada is the major city which
is well connected to the capital of the new state called Andhra Pradesh. The population growth has been rapidly
registering almost three fold increase in 3 decades ending 2001 with a population account of 8.45lakhs. The
overall gross density as of 2001 was 13600 per sq km. Vijayawada has a lot of scope for development and urban
growth. The citys population is expected to increase to 16.5 lakh by 2021.With ever increasing population and
Unprecedented growth of urban area the citys landscape is undergoing unwanted changes. For present study a
rectangular area which includes surrounding area of Vijayawada city has been selected.
METHODOLOGY

Started with a question: Why temperature is more in Vijayawada? When compared with surrounding areas.
Studying the present scenario of Vijayawada (required open green space should be 10% but in Vijayawada it is 2.7%
approx.)
One of the reason for increasing temperature is reduction of green areas because of urban sprawl.
Need for greenery to reduce negative impact of urban development. green roof is one of the option.
Studying the importance of green roofs and Understanding the difference between extensive and intensive green
roofs based on requirement, maintenance, activities etc.
An in-depth study has to be carried out to understand the distribution of land surface temperature and land use of
Vijayawada.
Delineation of an area which has the highest temperature has been selected to adopt green roof retrofitting.
Calculation of roof area for the selected region using GIS software and selection of roofs for retrofitting.
Studying available vegetation for hot and humid climate.
Study various advanced latest technologies involved for retrofitting and have to be implemented in the selected
region.
The results of the study indicate a significant temperature reduction in the local environment of that region,
confirming the potential of green roofs as urban heat island mitigation strategy.
 Green Roof

The roof of a building can be fully or part covered with

a layer of vegetation known as a Green Roof. A green
roof is a layered system comprising of a waterproofing
membrane, growing medium and the vegetation
layer itself.
green roofs are one option that can reduce the
negative impact of urban development providing
numerous environmental benefits.
Two types of green roofs are generally identified:
extensive (with soil thickness less than 10 and 15 cm
and intensive (with soil thickness more than 15 and 20
cm). Extensive green roofs are suitable for building
retrofitting and they do not require any additional
strengthening. The choice of green roofs
characteristics depends on the weather conditions
and plant species.
THE CASE FOR RETROFIT

This is a broad definition, and the modification of an existing building to accommodate a green roof falls within this
definition of retrofit. There are social, economic and environmental benefits associated with green roof retrofit. Social
benefits include the retention of existing structures familiar to the local community (Bromley et al, 2005). Social
sustainability is important, though challenging to measure and compare to economic and environmental benefits. Often
retrofit exists as part of urban regeneration and allows development of the new alongside the old (Bullen, 2007). Retrofit
is not always possible or desirable especially where it is not possible to achieve the standards required in contemporary
legislation. Another social benefit from a retrofitted green roof is the perception of a closer relationship to the natural
world, the biophilia phenomenon (Kellert and Wilson, 1993). Finally the aesthetics of the roof may be enhanced
through green roof retrofit. There are very strong environmental benefits of retrofit (Douglas, 2006). Particularly the
retention of existing carbon, as well as cost benefits derived through lower operational costs achieved through energy
savings (Bullen, 2007). Demolition is wasteful of resources that typically end up in landfill. Retrofitting with green roofs
could reduce the urban heat island effect whereby temperatures are typically up to five degrees higher than the
surrounding suburbs (Williams, 2010:60). The thermal performance of the roof is improved with the installation of a green
roof, reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions. Storm-water run-off may be reduced through green roof
retrofit and rainwater harvesting may be employed to reduce potable water consumption. The economic benefits are
that retrofit is cheaper than new build if the construction form is straightforward (Bullen 2007), and that costs of finance
tend to be lower as the building may remain occupied during retrofit (Highfield, 2000). Where the build quality is poor,
costs may be more expensive (Bullen, 2007). Property values are enhanced with retrofit projects (Chau et al, 2003). With
green roof retrofit, maintenance costs are reduced and new employment opportunities created.
Suitability for a green roof retrofit is reliant on aspects such as the roof size, type and pitch.
Additional requirements include good drainage, lightweight growth media, waterproofing,
additional structural support, rainwater harvesting and the use of drought or heat tolerant plants.
Longevity of the structure, drainage and waterproofing system is essential because replacement
costs are high.
Green roofs are designed to last a minimum of 50 years, which is approximately twice the life cycle
of a roof covering such as bituminous felt. Criteria taken into consideration when deciding whether
a roof is suitable for retrofitting are: position of the building, location, orientation of the roof, height
above ground, pitch, load bearing capacity of the roof, preferred planting palette, sustainability
and maintenance.
The first six criteria are physical attributes and the last three are related to client desires and
maintenance. With rooftop gardens, the criteria are similar; however the membrane has more
exposure and will require periodic maintenance and eventual replacement. The advantage of the
rooftop garden is that the installation is potentially re-locatable, reusable and cheaper.
Green roof retrofit-considerations

Load-bearing capacity and weight

The first step in retrofitting a building with a green roof is to determine the existing assemblys
load-bearing capacity. A green roof exerts additional load on the roof structure. This includes
dead loads [such as growing medium and mature plants] and live loads [such as wind, rain,
snow and roof traffic].
extensive and semi-intensive green roofs involve smaller plants growing on shallow (i.e. 50 to 150
mm [2 to 6 in.]) lightweight growing medium, with simple hard landscape such as pavers and
aggregates. Since the design weight is 50 to 200 kg/m2 (10 to 40 psf), existing roofs can often
accommodate the extra load without structural upgrade. Therefore, extensive and semi-
intensive green roofs are more suitable for retrofit applications.
Roofing systems