Study on factor contributing the urban heat island intensity in Perlis

Abstract

Nowadays, the effects of global warming in the world are at crucial state. One of the factors is caused by human activity in the city which leads to urban heat island effect. This problem is further intensified by the lack of effective development planning. This phenomenon will cause the urban area to be warmer compared with rural areas. Urban heat effect will decrease the quality of life, not to mention human health problems. Increased daytime temperatures, reduced nighttime cooling, and higher air pollution levels associated with urban heat islands can affect human health by contributing to general discomfort, respiratory difficulties, heat cramps and exhaustion, non-fatal heat stroke, and heat-related mortality. Another purpose of conducting this study is to identify the level or effect of urban heat, highlighting the area with the highest risk for this problem and suggesting a sustainable development plan to overcome the main cause of urban warming effect. A study was conducted regarding temperature difference between various types of regions comprising an industrial, agricultural, rural and urban area which is located in Perlis. In-situ temperature recording method was used and it is found that urban area exhibits the highest reading during mid-day compared to other regions where temperature increment which is about 3°C shows that Kangar city is experienced an urban heat island effect. By using GIS application, the problem area can be determined, where in this case, Kangar city shows an imbalance temperature, especially during mid-day and night, by comparing to others areas in vicinity of Perlis.