Аннотация:The urban ‘heat island’ as a climatic phenomenon exists almost everywhere except only specific geographical conditions of dry tropical deserts. Any city and even any village usually create ‘heat islands’ which intensity depends on a city area, population, urban heat sources, type of climate, etc.
In Moscow the continuous meteorological measurements were started in 1779. However, firstly it was the only station in the city. The urban ‘heat island’ in Moscow region may be studied since 1880s when a network of ground meteorological stations was created. Besides a traditional intensity of the UHI (i.e. averaged in time difference between the air temperature in the city centre and outside the city), one more additional parameter – so-called ‘areal’ UHI intensity – is useful as well. It represents a value averaged both in time and in space (a difference between mean air temperature in the city area and outside the city). The traditional intensity of the urban ‘heat island’ in Moscow was nearly of 1.0-1.2 ºC at the end of the XIX century, 1.2-1.4 ºC one century ago and 1.6-1.8 ºC both in the middle, and at the end of the XX century whereas the ‘areal intensity’ was equal to 0.8-0.9 ºC both in the middle, and at the end of the XX century. Thus, during several last decades both parameters remained nearly the same in spite of continued growth of the city. The probable cause is that the urban growth seems to be extensive now so that the urban saturation and density of heat sources in the city centre changed only a bit during last half of the century.
In the diurnal course the ‘heat island’ intensity in Moscow is maximal usually at night. The maximal ‘heat island’ intensity in Moscow may reach up to 14 ºC, usually at night or in the early morning in anticyclone conditions.
Weekly course of the air temperature T in Moscow is closely connected with the urban ‘heat island’ phenomenon. In average of last 50 years a gradual increase of T during week-days and sharp decrease (cooling) on weekends has been detected in Moscow. The difference between T at the end of working week and on Sunday or Monday is equal to nearly +0.25 ºC in average of a year; +0.35 ºC in cold season (from November to March) and +0.45 ºC at night (at 03 a.m.) in cold season. This difference may be explained by industrial haze and plumes from smoke stacks which are gradually accumulated from Monday to Friday and reduces effective nocturnal radiation in the city, especially during winter nights.