• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.43 no.2
• /
• pp.253-264
• /
• 2022

The effect of decreased human activity on the urban heat island intensity (UHII) was analyzed using the observed temperature data of six sites (including one reference area) in Daejeon Metropolitan City from February to May of 2019 to 2021. Depending on the observation site, UHII decreased by approximately 20% in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019 before COVID-19. The decrease in human activity increased UHII at night and decreased it during the daytime. Consequently, UHII diurnal amplitude increased by approximately 20% in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019, irrespective of location. The decrease in UHII did not appear to be significantly correlated with natural factors such as wind speed and social distancing steps. In contrast, UHII was correlated with social distancing and significantly reduced air pollutants after COVID-19, with the most significant correlation observed for NO₂.

• Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.47-59
• /
• 2017

The purpose of this study is to examine various definitions of urban heat island and to analyze the characteristics and differences of each methodology by applying each methodology for deriving the heat island region to Seoul. The definition of the heat island is divided into the atmospheric heat island and the surface heat island according to the utilized temperature data. The methodology for deriving the heat island area differs depending on the comparison method and the spatial extent of the analysis. As a result of analyzing each methodology for Seoul city, it was confirmed that the heat island area of Seoul is different according to temperature data. Also, it is confirmed that the distribution range of the heat island area is different according to the spatial range of analysis. This shows that even if the heat island area is analyzed for the same space and the same view point, the heat island area is derived differently according to each methodology. This study can be used as a basic study to solve the urban heat island problem in the future.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.135-148
• /
• 2021

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the urban heat island (UHI) intensity and the corresponding surface temperature forecast obtained using the local data assimilation and prediction system (LDAPS) of the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) against the AWS observation. The observed UHI intensity in Seoul increases during spring and winter, while it decreases during summer. It is found that the diurnal variability of the UHI intensity peaks at dawn but reaches a minimum in the afternoon. The LDAPS overestimates the UHI intensity in summer but underestimates it in winter. In particular, the model tends to overestimate the UHI intensity during the daytime in summer but underestimate it during the nighttime in winter. Moreover, surface temperature errors decrease in summer but increase in winter. The underestimation of the winter UHI intensity appears to be associated with weak forecasting of urban temperature in winter. However, the overestimated summer UHI intensity results from the underestimation of the suburban temperature forecast in summer. In order to improve the predictability of the UHI intensity, an urban canopy model (MORUSES) that considers urban effects was combined with LDAPS and used for simulation for the summer of 2017. The surface temperature forecast for the city was improved significantly by adopting MORUSES, and there were remarkable improvements in urban surface temperature morning forecasts. The urban canopy model produced an improvement effect that weakened the intensity of the UHI, which showed an overestimation during summer.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.18 no.11
• /
• pp.1-12
• /
• 2018

Heat waves during summer cause a qualitative degradation in urban environments and increases the number of patients who suffer from heat-related illnesses, and the urbanization deepens these problems. It is a prerequisite to analyze the current status accurately in order to assess the urban heat island phenomenon. Thus, this study aims to collect weather measurements information at the occurrence of a severe heat wave in Seoul, thereby allowing analysis of information, which will also consider the land use type. The weather measurement information used in the analysis had an advantage, as the gap between measured locations is considerably shorter than before due to the miniaturization of the automatic weather systems (AWS), which are connected through the communication network. Based on the above collected information, a temporal change in the data due to land use type was analyzed. As a result, the difference in temperature change in response to the land use type could be compared, as could the occurrence pattern of the tropical night phenomenon, and the effect on temperature reduction in green belt areas could be identified through the comparison of the intensity of heat island by time and land use. The methods and results derived in this study through the comparative analysis in terms of time and land use, weather information measurements, and mapping can be utilized as foundational data that can be referred to in urban planning to reduce the heat island phenomenon in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.1-16
• /
• 2017

This study was conducted to analyze the urban heat island(UHI) intensity of South Korea by using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) satellite imagery. For this purpose, the metropolitan area was spatially divided according to land cover classification into urban and non-urban land. From the analysis of land surface temperature(LST) in South Korea in the summer of 2009 which was calculated from MODIS satellite imagery it was determined that the highest temperature recorded nationwide was $36.0^{\circ}C$, lowest $16.2^{\circ}C$, and that the mean was $24.3^{\circ}C$, with a standard deviation of $2.4^{\circ}C$. In order to analyze UHI by cities and counties, UHI intensity was defined as the difference in average temperature between urban and non-urban land, and was calculated through RST1 and RST2. The RST1 calculation showed scattered distribution in areas of high UHI intensity, whereas the RST2 calculation showed that areas of high UHI intensity were concentrated around major cities. In order to find an effective method for analyzing UHI by cities and counties, analysis was conducted of the correlation between the urbanization ratio, number of tropical heat nights, and number of heat-wave days. Although UHI intensity derived through RST1 showed barely any correlation, that derived through RST2 showed significant correlation. The RST2 method is deemed as a more suitable analytical method for measuring the UHI of urban land in cities and counties across the country. In cities and counties with an urbanization ratio of < 20%, the rate of increase for UHI intensity in proportion to increases in urbanization ratio, was very high; whereas this rate gradually declined when the urbanization ratio was > 20%. With an increase of $1^{\circ}C$ in RST2 UHI intensity, the number of tropical heat nights and heat wave days was predicted to increase by approximately five and 0.5, respectively. These results can be used for reference when predicting the effects of increased urbanization on UHI intensity.