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.
And they would add crucial green space to reduce the heat island effect, she says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
Experts say cities like Delhi are especially vulnerable because of the "urban heat island effect", where concrete, traffic and limited green cover trap heat and keep cities hotter than surrounding areas.
From BBC ● May 28, 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 includes densely populated areas that suffer from the urban heat island effect, as well as rural and agricultural areas that are home to lower-income populations and large amounts of farmworkers who work outdoors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 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
The main problem driving the so-called "heat-island effect" is tall buildings.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2021
The heat-island effect of urban areas boosts damage to trees — and root damage from construction can make them particularly vulnerable.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 11, 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.
