FEATURES OF THE “HEAT ISLAND” FORMATION OVER THE CITY OF NOVOVOLYNSK AND WAYS OF OPTIMIZING MICROCLIMATE CHANGES
Authors: Stelmakh Valentyna , Netrobchuk Iryna 
Published: August 2023

The article is devoted to the problem of the formation and development of the urban “heat island” in the city of Novovolynsk. Human economic activity, the presence of a significant number of motor vehicles, asphalt and concrete surfaces, etc. cause significant differences between the microclimate of the city and the suburban area. Numerous experimental studies and measurements show that the surface temperature in cities is higher than in rural areas by 1-5°C.

Therefore, the purpose of this study was to study the conditions of formation, the consequences of the formation of an urban heat island in the city of Novovolynsk and the development of measures to optimize microclimatic changes in the city.

First of all, we analyzed literary sources and modern scientific publications and studied the theoretical foundations of the study of urban heat islands and methods of their evaluation. The climatic features of the city of Novovolynsk were studied and a number of measurements of temperature and humidity were carried out in the center of the city of Novovolynsk and on the outskirts of the city in the village of Stara Lishnya. These studies were carried out in order to experimentally determine the temperature difference between the city and the suburbs, as well as to identify the degree of influence of various types of anthropogenic activity.

In the autumn and winter of 2022, we carried out a number of instrumental measurements of temperature and humidity in the center of the city of Novovolynsk (control point #1) and on the outskirts of the city in the village of Stara Lishnya (control point #2). The study showed that the highest repeatability of air temperature differences (both positive and negative) falls in the range of 0.5-1.0°С (42.8%) and less often the differences reach above 1.0°С (23, 8%) and below 0.4 (33.4%). The highest repeatability of air temperature excesses in the city center compared to the surrounding area is in the range from 0.5 to 1.0°С – at 2 p.m. o’clock. Evidence of the presence of an urban heat island in the city of Novovolynsk is also an analysis of air humidity indicators at control points. In particular, as a result of observations, a stable exaggeration of the relative humidity index in rural areas over indicators in the city center was recorded. Analysis of the obtained indicators shows that the air temperature above the center of the city of Novovolynsk is higher by 0.1–1.6°C than on the outskirts in neighboring villages.

Finally, we developed a number of recommendations for optimizing thermal anomalies in the city of Novovolynsk. At the moment, several methods have been developed to solve the problem of thermal anomaly within urban urban areas, which can be summarized in the following steps: the use of “white roofs”, “green roofs”, planting more trees in the city, increasing the number of different squares and parks in the city, reducing the number of harmful emissions, thermal insulation of premises and buildings, use of solar panels etc.

Key words: heat island, microclimate of the city, thermal anomalies, thermal pollution, temperature indicators, “green roofs”, “white roofs”.