KOLKATA: The combined effect of climate change and rapid urbanisation has triggered an urban “heat island effect” in Kolkata, with the city’s annual mean land surface temperature rising as much as 4.72°C in the last three decades, causing heat distress to both flora and fauna, claims a recent study by Calcutta University and Vidyasagar University.
The study says that the urban heat island (UHI) effect has intensified, in the last thirty years or so, along with a 33% rise in the city’s built-up area and a 25% decline in vegetation.
