Kampala is the capital city of Uganda with the metropolitan area that is with in 20km of the centre of Kampala city. Kampala has a population of approximately 3 million people, and an area of 970 sq.km. The city is growing day in and out and the population as well keeps on increasing.

?Urban heat island refers to an urban area that is significantly warmer than its surrounding at times due to the surrounding human activities.?

Well, I would say the higher the population in the city, the higher the urban heat experienced during day. Kampala has a place that I would personally refer to as an urban heat island. This area is ?downtown?. Among the places that heat up during day in Kampala is down town. This has been   caused by the energy from the people. Cars, buses and lots of activities that run in this place.  In fact, this place must be the busiest during day in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan area. With all this that happens around this area, it is hard, close to impossible for this area to avoid the urban heat.

Apart from the congestion that happens, there is a clear cut evidence as well that the urban heat in Kampala down town is also as a result of tall buildings that provide a myriad of surfaces for their adequate reflection and absorption of sunlight and so resulting into heating. The buildings on the other hand block wind which would as well inhibit cooling by convection to make the place cooler than it is today. As a matter of fact, I would say the surfaces that are being used in construction of both roads and various surfaces are dark, and have a significantly different thermal bulk properties and they absorb more solar radiation and therefore releasing a lot of heat.

In addition to this, Kampala Capital City Authority as a body has conserved little or no significant vegetation in Kampala down town. Most of the vegetation that appears is found in places outside down town (?one would mention that these were residents of the colonialists during the colonial times?). Whereas this might to an extent satisfy the needs of a few citizens that use the down town outskirts, it has exposed the people that work and shop down town to the urban heat. The vegetation that would provide shade, trees that would provide the cooling effects are not in any reach.

It is non ideal not to talk about the waste heat from automobiles that have flocked the city mainly down town, the trucks loading and off loading, buses coming in and out, motorcycles and many more automobiles that have created heat in the city. This heat does not only directly affect people but also causes the concentration of the ozone, a green house gas whose production increases with the increase in temperature.

With the above mentioned, there is need to restore nature to help in micro climate moderation, the trees not only beautify road ways but they as well provide a buffer against high and low Additionally, shade trees can enhance soil quality by producing litter fall and pruning residues, which can offset urban heat island effects by increasing the amount of green space within urban areas and their surrounds. Fruit crops and agro forestry also provide shade, which can reduce land surface temperature and hasten night time cooling

Agricultural lands and urban gardens increase evapotranspiration, thereby lowering temperatures through evaporation cooling. The potential for carbon sequestration by nature has not been adequately analyzed, but agro forestry is associated with minimal carbon emissions and the trees absorb carbon. If these steps are highly considered by the planning authority and the people, the heat will be highly dealt with in Kampala.

source: google image https://www.thenatureofcities.com/2016/03/01/urban-nature-that-reduces-risk-in-kampala/