Data jam studies urban heat impact, 'heat islands' in Mumbai

The next time you're sweating it on a hot and muggy day, take a look around. The aim of this exercise is to determine whether you are positioned in a 'heat island'.

- Shreya Jachak

MUMBAI:

"If you think the temperature on IMD's site does not reflect what you're experiencing, it could be because of your location and the impact of urban heat," said a presenter at Mumbai 'Datajam on Urban Heat in Mumbai' at St Xavier's College on Saturday.

The data jam was organised by Open City, an urban data portal, along with NGOs such as C40 Cities, World Resources Institute India and Maharashtra's State Climate Cell. For seven hours on Saturday, more than 30 people including students and professionals assembled to study the effects of urban heat and how to tackle it.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, urban heat islands form when some areas experience hotter temperatures than others within a city.