Improved Sea Surface Temperature (Sst) Impact on Tropical Urban Environment: A Wrf Modelling Investigation

Abstract

In recent times urban planners in dense cities have realized the negative impact of the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon and its strong relation with climate change (Sharma et al., 2019). Sea Surface Temperature (SST) significantly impacts the coastal urban environment, and a systematic error may adversely impact an urban thermal assessment. This study examines the role of SST during representative months in Singapore. It is found that the improved SST indicates an improvement in RMSE to 0.9°C across representative seasons at station locations within the urban canopy. The systematic SST error also impacted UHI, which varies in characteristics and intensity throughout the year. The highest spatial mean UHI intensity (2.9°C) occurs at midnight in October while the lowest UHI (1.4°C) occurs in February. The influence of sea breezes (under weak synoptic patterns in the Inter-Monsoon seasons) is analyzed to show relevant impact in the area close to the coastline. The results provide insights into the potential future impact of global warming and rising SST on Singapore’s thermal environment. Adequate urban planning could promote ventilation paths starting in the coastline to further remove urban heat in inland locations.

Keywords: Sea Surface Temperature (SST) Urban Heat Island (UHI)Coastal urban environmentSynoptic patterns Seasonal UHI intensity