First recorded in 1960–65
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Modelling of a previous West Midlands heatwave by researchers from the University of Birmingham reached the bleak conclusion that the heat island impact alone accounted for roughly half the 130 heat-related deaths.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
And they would add crucial green space to reduce the heat island effect, she says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
Urban green spaces provide shade for city dwellers facing rising temperatures brought on by climate change, but how much relief from the heat island effect do they provide when humidity is factored in?
From Science Daily ● Nov. 14, 2024
That’s created a heat island effect that’s raised local temperatures by several degrees on top of global warming, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2024
Ruese also suggested that local leaders improve urban infrastructure so that it reduces heat, and in particular the urban heat island effect.
From Salon ● Apr. 15, 2024
And artificial turf is disproportionately installed to replace private lawns and public landscaping in economically disadvantaged communities that already face the greatest consequences of the urban heat-island effect, in which hard surfaces raise local temperatures.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2024
“Here, like other hardworking immigrants, they performed tireless, invisible labor for the city, sequestering carbon, countering the heat-island effect, and reducing the pollution of storm-water runoff,” Kinney wrote.
From Slate ● Mar. 16, 2024
“Planting trees helps with storm water issues and provides shade, which reduces the heat-island effect we get in urban areas,” Kurtz says.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 26, 2022
The main problem driving the so-called "heat-island effect" is tall buildings.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2021
In cities, concrete also adds to the heat-island effect by absorbing the warmth of the sun and trapping gases from car exhausts and air-conditioner units – though it is, at least, better than darker asphalt.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 25, 2019
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
