City living to get more hot and bothered

Parts of Australia's cities will be up to 3.7 degrees hotter by 2050, as urban expansion spawns ever more asphalt and concrete, new research suggests.

The ''urban heat island effect'' - rising temperatures in built-up areas - will amplify climate change, particularly in the suburban fringes, according to researchers from the University of NSW.

''If you are living near the edge of a city today, you will notice the temperature change, mainly through the minimum temperature change at night,'' said Daniel Argueso, the lead author of the study prepared at the Centre for Excellence in Climate System Science.

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