How agriculture and urban areas can contribute to intense summer heat

In rural areas, a process plants go through can actually contribute to humidity and increase the feels like temperatures. When temperatures are on the rise, it allows for more water vapor to be in the atmosphere as well. This value is what we call the dewpoint, and the higher this number is, plus the closer it is to the temperature, results in a higher humidity level. When these values are higher, we see that the human body can experience problems in trying to regulate its temperature. With sweating being a way of the body cooling itself off, high humidity levels cause the problem of not allowing for the sweat to evaporate and start the cooling process. This can lead to heat related illnesses if the proper precautions aren't taken. In terms of agriculture, crops and plants can both contribute to humidity by a process called transpiration, or essentially, the breathing of that plant. This process releases water vapor into the atmosphere, therefore adding to the humidity of the surrounding area. Because of this, areas with agriculture can experience higher humidity levels and add to the discomfort of outdoor activities.

With urban areas, we can observe a different factor contributing to higher temperatures. On average, temperatures are 1-7 degrees higher in urban areas during the day and 2-5 degrees higher during the night. This is known as an urban heat island effect. This is caused by heat from the sun being reflected and absorbed by buildings and roads. Once this happens, the buildings and roads hold onto this heat, and slowly radiate it at night, causing temperatures to fall a bit slower than the surrounding area. With the extreme heat taking full force currently, these urban areas can be another big problem in contributing to heat related illnesses.