Urban heat island features of southeast Australian towns

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the current urban heat island (UHI) effect in a number of southeast Australian towns and to provide discussion on its potential impact on the historical temperature record. High-quality long-term historical temperature data are fundamental in the examination of climate change. Observational datasets are essential for the monitoring of climate and the analysis of past trends, and the validation of climate models. It is therefore necessary to account for any possible bias in the record due to non-climatic influences. Changes affecting the record, such as site moves and instrument modifications, have been addressed on both regional (e.g. Easterling and Peterson 1994; Plummer et al. 1995) and global (Jones et al. 1986; Karl and Williams 1987) scales. Aust. Met. Mag. 50 (2001) 1-13