A Case Study of Summer Performance of Green Roof and Cool Roof Development Strategies on Air Quality in Tehran Metropolis

The unfavorable consequences of the expansion of the metropolitans, including urban heat island and air pollution, have attracted the attention of urban managers to strategies for improving environmental conditions. In recent years, along with population growth and high energy consumption, as well as building materials replacing permeable surfaces and urban green spaces, deteriorate the urban heat island phenomenon and air quality in Tehran. Given the significant area of roof surfaces in urban areas, the application of new and environmentally friendly technologies such as the development of cool and green roofs, with heat island modification impact, can play a positive role in reducing cooling energy consumption and improving air quality. Therefore, to study the mutual interaction between meteorological parameters and changes in the urban structure and its possible side effects on air quality, numerical simulation of green roof and cool roof strategies based on the urbanized coupled meteorological-chemical model (WRF/Chem/SLUCM) during the period June 15 to 30, 2016, have been conducted in Tehran metropolitan area. Results show that the development of cool roofs with an averaged diurnal temperature decrease (-0.65°C) and a decrease in the heat flux (-57 W/m2) has a positive role in the reduction of Tehran heat island. Also, the relative reduction of atmospheric pollutant concentrations has also been achieved in numerical simulations. It shows that the decrease in the height of the boundary layer and turbulence process as a result of the decrease in near-surface temperature has not caused a significant change in the air quality in Tehran. The development of green roofs has led to a daily (nightly) decrease (increase) in the air temperature. The increase in temperature during the night was noticeable (up to +0.53°C), and it is a result of the high emissivity of vegetation, as well as a decrease in wind speed in the vicinity of green roof surfaces which slows down the natural ventilation over the city. Furthermore, an increase in the near-surface humidity also predicted in both strategies which improves the environmental comfort satisfaction in the summer hot and dry days. Comparison of these strategies performance shows that cool roof has a significantly sensible cooling effect than green roofs, and the process of reducing pollutants, especially at night, is more favorable in cool roofing strategy. Consequently, since the cooling efficiency of green roofs depends on soil moisture content, as well as comparing construction costs and no need for specific infrastructure, the development of cool roofs in Tehran metropolis is recommended.