(Phys.org) - The urban heat island effect describes the way urban areas get significantly warmer than the surrounding rural or suburban areas. There are a number of reasons why this occurs, although it can mostly be boiled down to the fact that there are fewer green spaces containing plants that cool off the surrounding air by evapotranspiration and more buildings and roads, which all have a tendency to hold more heat from the sun and keep the city warmer.
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