ZHAN Qingming,LU Yixiao,LIN Kai.Analysis of the Thermal Environment Improvement Effects of Cool Roofs and Green Roofs in Wuhan Urban Development Zone[J].Journal of Geomatics,2026,51(5):27-33
ZHAN Qingming,LU Yixiao,LIN Kai.Analysis of the Thermal Environment Improvement Effects of Cool Roofs and Green Roofs in Wuhan Urban Development Zone[J].Journal of Geomatics,2026,51(5):27-33DOI: 10.14188/j.2095-6045.20260128.
Analysis of the Thermal Environment Improvement Effects of Cool Roofs and Green Roofs in Wuhan Urban Development Zone
To evaluate the effects of roof retrofitting on the urban thermal environment, this study takes the Wuhan Metropolitan Development Zone as the study area and applies the WRF urban model at a spatial resolution of 500 m to construct a control scenario and two roof-retrofitting scenarios, namely cool roofs and green roofs. Comparative simulations were conducted for the high-temperature period from 08:00 on 6 August to 08:00 on 7 August 2024 (Beijing Time), and the model results are validated using observed 2 m air temperature and 2 m relative humidity. The results show that the model reproduces the diurnal variations of temperature and humidity well, with relatively high agreement for air temperature. In terms of thermal-environment response, both cool roofs and green roofs reduce near-surface 2 m air temperature, and the cooling effect is mainly concentrated during key daytime periods, with the maximum cooling magnitude approaching 0.5 ℃, while the nighttime effect weakens and gradually converges. Spatially, daytime cooling signals exhibit a certain degree of clustering in built-up areas, indicating significant spatial heterogeneity. Mechanism analysis shows that cool roofs achieve rapid cooling mainly by weakening sensible heat transfer from the surface to the atmosphere, whereas green roofs not only suppress sensible heating but also markedly enhance evapotranspiration, causing more surface energy to be released as latent heat and thereby producing a more gradual and sustained cooling response. Further analysis using the 90th percentile of air temperature under the control scenario as the threshold for extreme heat shows that both roof-retrofitting strategies significantly reduce the area exposed to extreme high temperatures. Over the whole day, the proportion of extreme high-temperature grids decreases by 68.98% for cool roofs and 58.40% for green roofs, with the most pronounced reductions occurring during 08:00~12:00 and 13:00~18:00. This study establishes a framework for evaluating and mapping the effects of roof retrofitting at the urban scale, and provides a reference for heat-risk governance and fine-scale spatial regulation under urban renewal.
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