Influence of a railway station and the Yangtze River on the local urban thermal environment of a subtropical city

Abstract

Urbanization causes various climate-related environmental problems, such as the urban heat island phenomenon and extreme weather. As such, the outdoor thermal environment is worsening in cities, and researchers are increasingly concerned with mitigation measures. Here, we investigated the influence of a major railway station and the Yangtze River on the local thermal environment in a city with a subtropical climate. Field measurements were performed in Wuhan, China, from 21 July 2017, to 25 July 2017. The cooling effect of the Yangtze River modulated the surrounding urban environment substantially at night, especially in areas closer to the river border. During the afternoon, areas farther from the railway station experienced higher temperatures, that meant railway station showed a cooling effect. By contrast, at night, the temperature exhibited a decreasing trend with increasing distance, that meant railway station showed heat island effect. Moreover, there was a significant relationship between the percentage of the man-made area (versus natural area) and air temperature at night, where temperature increased with an increasing percentage of man-made area. The cooling effect of the Yangtze River and Wuchang railway station could be taken into account to mitigate the urban thermal environment in Wuhan in the summer.