Review article: Urban heat islands under climate change scenarios

Abstract

Urban Heat Island (UHI) represents a phenomenon studied and documented in the context of climate change and urbanization. This review article offers a view of the characterization of ICUs in the context of climate change scenarios, highlighting elements such as climate variability, urban vulnerability and mitigation strategies. Progress in understanding ICUs is discussed, including recent research on its dynamics and long-term effects. Measures are explored to address this problem in urban environments, such as sustainable urban design, increasing green areas and promoting urban cooling technologies. This review addresses the studies carried out on Urban Heat Islands over the last 14 years; giving a total of 119 related publications on the subject that have contributed significantly to the understanding of ICUs, providing new perspectives on their dynamics, impacts and possible solutions.

Keywords: Urban Heat Islands (UHI), climate change, urbanization, sustainable cities, risks.