Editing Urbanization (section)

=== Urban heat island ===
[[Urban heat island]]s have become a growing concern over the years. An urban heat island is formed when industrial areas absorb and retain heat. Much of the solar energy reaching rural areas is used to evaporate water from plants and soil. In cities, there are less vegetation and exposed soil. Most of the sun's energy is instead absorbed by buildings and asphalt; leading to higher surface temperatures. Vehicles, factories, and heating and cooling units in factories and homes release even more heat.<ref>Park, H.-S. (1987). [[hdl:2241/4711|Variations in the urban heat island intensity affected by geographical environments]]. Environmental Research Center papers, no. 11. Ibaraki, Japan: Environmental Research Center, The University of Tsukuba.</ref> As a result, cities are often {{convert|1 to 3|C-change}} warmer than other areas near them.<ref>[http://www.epa.gov/heatisland/ "Heat Island Effect"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150814070412/http://www.epa.gov/heatisland/ |date=14 August 2015 }}. Epa.gov (17 November 2010). Retrieved on 7 April 2014.</ref> Urban heat islands also make the soil drier and absorb less carbon dioxide from emissions.<ref>{{cite web|title=Heating Up: Study Shows Rapid Urbanization in China Warming the Regional Climate Faster than Other Urban Areas|url=http://gtresearchnews.gatech.edu/newsrelease/china-climate.htm|access-date=31 July 2008|archive-date=20 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020041109/http://gtresearchnews.gatech.edu/newsrelease/china-climate.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> A Qatar University study found that land-surface temperatures in Doha increased annually by 0.65&nbsp;°C from 2002 to 2013 and 2023.<ref>Patel, S., Indraganti, M., & Jawarneh, R. N. (2024). Urban planning impact on summer human thermal comfort in Doha, Qatar. ''Building and Environment'', ''254''. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2024.111374</nowiki></ref>