Analysis of the urban heat island in the Andean environment of Cuenca-Ecuador

Abstract

The Urban heat island (UHI) is defined as being the thermal difference between the city and rural area. Due to the importance of this phenomenon it is studied on a global level. However, in Andean cities its geography makes it difficult to interpret the ICU. In Cuenca the urban area is lower than the rural area so the urban heat island effect intensifies. In this sense, this article analyses the urban heat island of Cuenca in extreme periods defined as the wet and dry seasons between 2015 and 2017 based on information obtained from the network of stations of Cuenca with data on temperature, precipitation and relative humidity parameters. After that isotherms are produced with the data from 10 urban and rural stations with an elevation range of 2,400 to 2,800 m a. s. l. Finally the ICU is identified per period and the differences are compared to those of the coldest rural station. Results show an ICU of 3 ºC in the urban center for the wet and dry period from 2015 to 2017. © 2018 Universidad de Alicante. All Rights Reserved.