DOI: 10.36347/sjet

Pages: 438-441

With rapid industrialization and the rise of concrete forests, the effects of climate change have now posed a major challenge to the scientific community. The absorbance of radiation on the surface has incremented over the years with urbanization. The replacement of vegetation by layers of asphalt and concrete has led to changes in the characteristics of the surface like the thermal capacity, heat capacity and albedo. The consequences of which have developed a phenomenon now popularly known as the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHI). In a developing country like India, where the urban growth is in its dormant phase, it is possible to strategize for a climate-sensitive infrastructure. An observational study on the same was carried out in Kharagpur region of West Bengal. The studies revealed that vegetation in the form of grass cover over buildings reduced interior temperatures by 7.68˚C on an average as compared to structures exposed to direct sunlight at <95% relative humidity conditions. This paper therefore provides a possible and sustainable strategy to tackle UHI and to overtake adverse climate changes by a significant factor.