Occurrence of the urban heat island in Bielsko-Biała based on spatial distribution of air temperatures

The article presents the problem of the occurrence of an urban heat island. This phenomenon was observed for the Bielsko-Biała area on the basis of data on spatial distribution of air temperatures obtained in 2015. To carry out the planned research, maps of spatial distribution of air temperatures – averaged over the year, as well as for the summer and winter period – were made. Additionally, for selected districts of Bielsko-Biała the occurrence of thermal weather types was recognized and the duration of thermal seasons was determined. As a result of the works carried out, air temperature differences (reaching 3.4°C) were found in the studied area on an annual scale. Moreover, the differentiation in duration of thermal weather types and thermal seasons was confirmed. The data obtained made itpossible to determine the area of the urban heat island.