Tokyo's Heat Island Effect

• This interactive resource lets students explore 3D maps, images, text, and data about the heat island effect in Tokyo, Japan.
• Students will explore some of the reasons for the increasing urban temperatures and discover some of the solutions the city is implementing in an effort to reduce the heat.

Positives

• This resource explains how wind flow, heat exhaust, green spaces, heat-reflecting coatings, and proximity to a large body of water can affect the temperature of a city.
• Students will learn why Tokyo's temperature has increased so much more than the rest of Japan.
  

Additional Prerequisites

• Using a slower Internet connection or wireless Internet may cause the images to load slowly.
• Students should be familiar with line graphs and reading maps.
  

Differentiation

• Cross-curricular connections could be made with social studies classes when discussing the effects of urban planning, the number of parks and trees in urban areas, and the differing conditions in various urban communities.
• Biology courses could explore the connections between urban heat-island effects and the intensity of heat waves or heat-related illnesses as temperatures increase.
  
• Other resources related to this topic include this video on what would happen if we cut down all of a city's trees, this video on the benefits of urban trees, this article on dangerous humid heat extremes, and this interactive tree equity score map.
  

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.