https://phys.org/news/2018-07-cold-reveals-potential-benefits-urban.html

Jiachuan Yang, a post-doctoral researcher, and Elie Bou-Zeid, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, analyzed urban temperatures in 12 U.S. cities in the Northeast and Midwest during a 2014 cold wave. They found that urban areas stayed warmer than the surrounding suburbs and country. The difference in temperature was greatest during the cold wave, which set more than 49 low-temperature records. The temperatures differences were also more pronounced at night than during the day.

The findings, reported in the June issue of the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, could inform policies for northern cities seeking to mitigate extreme temperatures and curb year-round energy use.