Climate in cities

Basics

Unit 2:
Urban climate

Many natural factors control the climate in urban areas, for example, the latitude, whether the city is in a mountain region or on a flat plain, whether it's close to the sea and what the surrounding land is used for.  As a city grows, new factors (e.g. heat from human activities and air pollution) modify the local climate and contribute to the formation of distinct urban climates. 

Large numbers of people and heat from human activities, along with the fact that cities are built mainly of concrete, asphalt, bricks and stones, makes the temperature in a city higher than in a non-urban area.  High density building alters the wind speed and its direction and a local air circulation, called the urban breeze, developes.