Asst. Professor, Geo-Information and Earth Observation Sciences, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Ethiopia
Online published on 21 November, 2013.
The study examines the effects of urbanization and land use changes on climatic environment of Visakhapatnam city. A detailed study was carried out with regard to urban heat islands and to examine the nature and intensity of heat islands in the city. This study is very important in city planning for the avoidance of air pollution hazards. Trend analysis of the temperatures has been carried out in order to assess the effects of urbanization on thermal climate. The regression analysis gives an indication of overall tendency of the temperature. The mean annual temperature varies from 23.5°c to 30.9°c; mean maximum summer (April-June) temperature varies from 32.8°c – 34.0°c and mean minimum winter (Dec – Feb) temperature ranges from 17.5°c – 19.3°c. The mean annual rainfall is 954 mm and Visakhapatnam receives maximum amount of rainfall during post monsoon period (Oct-Nov) due to cyclonic activity. The trends of both annual and monsoonal rainfall at Visakhapatnam over a period of 50 years, from 1951 to 2000 are also examined.
