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. 2022 Apr 16;49(7):e2022GL098198.
doi: 10.1029/2022GL098198. Epub 2022 Mar 30.

The Curious Relationship Between COVID-19 Lockdowns and Urban Heat Islands

Marshall Shepherd  1
Affiliations

The Curious Relationship Between COVID-19 Lockdowns and Urban Heat Islands

Marshall Shepherd. Geophys Res Lett. .

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a life-altering shock to society. However, there have been serendipitous outcomes from the associated lockdowns ranging from improved air quality to reductions in carbon emissions. Liu et al. (2022, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL096842) revealed that even the magnitude of the heat islands in Chinese cities were reduced due to a decline in human activities and their associated anthropogenic contributions. These surprising findings have significant implications for understanding intersections among climate, health, energy, urban planning, transportation, and infrastructure.

Keywords: COVID‐19 lockdown; cities; climate; climate justice; heat; urban climate.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Land surface temperature in Shanghai, China on 13 August 2013 (Source: NASA Earth Observatory website, https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/81870/heat-wave-in-china).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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