Urban Heat Island Effect LESSON

by Dynamic Earth Learning

Price: 500 points or $5 USD

Subjects: science,lifeScience,appliedScience,earthAndSpaceScience,humanImpactsOnEarthSystems,globalClimateChange,naturalResources

Grades: 4,5,6,7,8

Description: Embedded video lesson on first slide! Then students answer 30 questions. This environmental earth science lesson covers the concept of urban heat islands (UHI), which refers to cities experiencing higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas due to human activities. It explains that the replacement of natural landscapes with urban surfaces, such as concrete and asphalt, leads to heat absorption and emission, causing the urban heat island effect. Factors contributing to UHIs include waste heat from human activities, urban geometry, reduced natural land cover, urban haze, and wind blocking. The impacts of UHIs include heat-related illnesses, increased energy consumption, and altered wind patterns and precipitation. The lesson provides solutions to decrease UHIs, such as increasing green spaces, implementing cool roofs and pavements, using green roofs, reducing energy consumption, and promoting sustainable urban planning.