Financial Times – Urban Heat Island Index in the City of London

The image is a heatmap of the City of London, focusing on the urban heat island effect and temperature variations across the city compared to surrounding rural areas. The map uses hexagonal cells in varying shades to depict the difference in temperature, measured in degrees Celsius, between urban and rural areas.

The color scale at the top of the image ranges from light blue to dark red, representing temperature differences from -1.5°C to +3.5°C or more. The darkest red areas indicate places in the City of London that are more than 3°C warmer than comparable rural areas, which dominate the map.

Key areas within and surrounding the City of London are labeled, including Westminster to the west, Tower Hamlets to the east, and Southwark to the south. The River Thames cuts across the map from west to east, forming a natural boundary between the City of London and Southwark.

The heatmap shows that most areas within the City of London are significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas, particularly within the city center and along the river. The urban heat island effect is strongly concentrated in this area, as indicated by the deep red coloring.

This image, credited to the Financial Times, is based on data modeling provided by Arup and uses imagery from Maxar Technologies, with the map created by Mapcreator.io and OSM.org. The purpose of the map is to visually convey the extent of temperature increases in urban areas due to the urban heat island effect, highlighting how the dense built environment of the City of London retains more heat compared to less developed rural surroundings.

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