Does Lima Have An Urban Heat Island?

Introduction

The aim of the investigation is to examine the temperatures in a Central Business District of Lima and find if the district of San Isidro has an urban heat island. I believe that the area of San Isidro, mainly its business district, has a microclimate leading to it having an urban heat island. An urban heat island is one the main urban microclimates. Urban areas aregenerally warmer than the surrounding countryside by and average of 2-3ºC , hence they are called urban heat islands.

The city of Lima is the capital of Peru, It is located in the central coast of Peru in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers. It is on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It has a latitude and longitude of 12° 0’ S, 77º 0’ W .Figure 1.1 Map showing the location of Peru in South America



Figure 1.2 Map showing the location of the department of Lima and Peru’s capital city




Figure 1.3 Map showing the location of the city of Lima in the department of Lima, Peru


Figure 1.4 Mapshowing the location of the district of San Isidro and San Borja in the Metropolitan Area of Lima



I chose this topic because I wanted to know more about Lima’s unusual weather conditions and its microclimates. This is a topic which I find really interesting as it deals with several aspects that affect climate in a specific area and it is something that is easilynoticed. The reason I chose the district of San Isidro in particular is that it is the district with the highest index of Human Development and its population mainly consists of people from the medium high and high socioeconomic status. Also, it is considered one of the most important financial centres in Latinamerica and it has large high density buildings which house banks, insurance companies,department stores and others, and are surrounded by residential areas. The financial district in San Isidro is a route focus as it is next to the Av. Javier Prado and the Vi Expresa which are main transport routes in Lima.
The topic is worthy of being investigated because due to Lima’s location, the Humboldt current and the Andes mountains, several microclimates are created. The city of Lima is locatedin the the coastal desert of Peru having a temperate desert climate, meaning that there is extremely low amounts of precipitation which cannot support growth of most plants. Due to the cold Humboldt current fog is generated and the climate is kept dry while the Andes Mountains blocks moisture from the coast, hence there are few clouds with rain. During summer, climate in Lima is warm, moist andhas sunny conditions with little or no rainfall. During winter, Lima has an overcast, cool and damp conditions which keep daytime temperatures cool. Across the city there is a permanent layer of fog creating mist in the coastal areas, precipitation takes places as dirzzle during the night and morning with a total range of 10 to 155 mm in winter.
This is seen in the different districts of Limawhere those near the cost like Chorrillos, Barranco and Miraflores are usually cold, damp and foggy. But farther away from the coast, going eastwards, in districts such as La Molina and Surco the climate gets drier and warmer. Not only is this seen around the city, but around the whole country where climate varies depending on each department or city’s location.

Urbanization alters the localclimate in a city. Urbanization is the process whereby urban areas increase as they offer a better environment than the countryside as it has more services, jobs, healthcare, economies of scale and efficient services as they are close together. As well it offer social mobility and increased opportunities, especially for women. This takes place due to a natural increase in population as birth rate...