Viewpoint : The 'heat island' effect and estimates of the temperature of Britain
Symmons, Philip
The world has become warmer in recent times, especially so during the past half century. Warming is best measured by estimating the change in the near-surface global mean-annual temperature, which over land usually is derived from observations of the daily maximum and minimum temperatures. Land is divided into blocks and the mean for a block is obtained from the returns of observing stations within that block (Jones and Moberg, 2003). However, the temperature recorded at a station may be affected by the 'heat island' created by a city. The aim of this note is to determine whether or not the effect is significant for Britain - the aim is not to decide how its magnitude might be determined.
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