Over at WattsUPWithThat there have been two recentposts (with
lots of comments) concerning the effect of Urban Heat Islands
(UHIs). The reason for this is an amazingly dismissive statement
about UHIs in this piece of global warming alarmism. The
statement is the following sidebar: Is Urbanization Causing the
Rise in Temperatures? The few remaining global warming
contrarians, many of whom have directs links to the fossil fuel
industry, have argued that urban “heat islands”—where the air
temperature is several degrees warmer than surrounding rural
areas—may be responsible for a substantial portion of the
average temperature increase linked to global warming. Compared
with rural areas, urban areas have more dark surfaces (such as
pavement) that absorb heat from the sun and less vegetation to
provide shade and cool the air. Because these urban heat islands
raise nighttime temperatures more than daytime temperatures
compared with non-urban areas, some have argued that
urbanization is to blame for data indicating r