Study: city street & building layout determine intensity of the Urban Heat Island effect

by A. Watts, February 23, 2018 in WUWT


How cities heat up
The way streets and buildings are arranged makes a big difference in how heat builds up, study shows

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The arrangement of a city’s streets and buildings plays a crucial role in the local urban heat island effect, which causes cities to be hotter than their surroundings, researchers have found. The new finding could provide city planners and officials with new ways to influence those effects.

Some cities, such as New York and Chicago, are laid out on a precise grid, like the atoms in a crystal, while others such as Boston or London are arranged more chaotically, like the disordered atoms in a liquid or glass. The researchers found that the “crystalline” cities had a far greater buildup of heat compared to their surroundings than did the “glass-like” ones.

Russian Cold Shot Set To Shock-Freeze Europe …Cold Temperatures…High Winds…Homeless At Risk

by P. Gosselin, February 23, 2018 in NoTricksZone


A vicious cold blast is about to invade Europe from the Russian Front and shock freeze the continent.

Interestingly some people – meteorologists among them – have been poking fun at the “hype” or even have blasted media outlets and other private meteorologists for “sensationalizing” the forecast Cold Beast from the East.

Sure, a number of locations over Germany for example may not even see temperatures drop below -10°C. What’s the big deal? It’s winter after all, they are saying. Just put on an extra coat. Some of these critics have even called the loud warnings of the Siberian cold “shrill, dumbass, click-baiting headlines“.

Wind Industry Faces Billions In Early Repair Costs

by Benny Peiser, February 23, 2018 in ClimateChangeDispatch


Ørsted must repair up to 2,000 wind turbine blades because the leading edge of the blades has become worn down after just a few years at sea.

Siemens Gamesa also does not want to comment on the costs, but the company’s Danish subsidiary has just provided 4.5 billion Danish Krone ($750 million) or 16% of its revenue to guarantee its commitments (…)