Analysis of the Kuwait city urban heat island

Twenty‐three years of maximum and minimum air temperature data are analysed for selected stations in and near Kuwait City, Kuwait. The results of a series of statistical analyses reveal the general lack of a well‐developed heat island in this rapidly expanding urban area. This finding is in stark contrast to the identification of large heat islands in the growing arid‐land cities of North America. The similarities in the urban‐rural landscape of the Kuwait City environment and its close proximity to a large water body are suggested as explanations for the observed temporal and spatial temperature patterns.