Intra and inter ‘local climate zone’ variability of air temperature as observed by crowdsourced citizen weather stations in Berlin, Germany

Fenner, Daniel; Meier, Fred; Bechtel, Benjamin; Otto, Marco; Scherer, Dieter

doi:10.1127/metz/2017/0861

Cited by 134 publications

(157 citation statements)

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“…Following the first assessment of the LCZ scheme by Stewart et al . () using screen‐height temperatures observed in Nagano (Japan), Vancouver (Canada), and Uppsala (Sweden), studies have been performed in multiple European cities, such as Dublin (Alexander and Mills, ), Olomouc (Lehnert et al, ), Szeged (Skarbit et al, ), Berlin (Fenner et al, ), and Augsburg (Beck et al, ) to reveal distinct air temperature signals for stations located in different LCZs. However, one major drawback of using station “point” measurements is the inability to capture spatial variations in temperature in detail.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…Large intra‐LCZ variabilities are found for LCZ 6 and LCZ 8, which may be due to the heterogeneity in urban form owing to their locations at urban–rural boundaries, or simply as a result of the large number of data points (Figure ). Interestingly, the large intra‐LCZ variability for LCZ 6 is also observed in Berlin (Germany; Fenner et al, ) and Szeged (Hungary; Skarbit et al, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The nocturnal air temperature difference between LCZ X (where X = 1 to 10) and LCZ D (Δ T X–D ) is often used to quantify the UHI intensity in cities (Alexander and Mills, ; Stewart et al, ; Leconte et al, ; Fenner et al, ; Skarbit et al, ). The mean ΔT2M X–D at NIGHT obtained in this study range from 0.25 K for ΔT2M 9– D to 2.82 K for ΔT2M 1/2/3– D (Table c).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Houet and Pigeon () and Fenner et al . () have also reported annual variabilities in the inter‐UCZ/LCZ temperature differences, and observation‐based studies generally indicate that cloud‐free days with low wind speeds in the summer favour pronounced temperature differences between LCZs (e.g., Alexander and Mills, ; Lehnert et al, ; Fenner et al, ). Regarding the diurnal variability, the UHI is commonly known as a nocturnal phenomenon (Oke, ; Cleugh and Grimmond, ), which has been confirmed by previous UHI studies using the LCZ concept (Alexander and Mills, ; Leconte et al, ; Fenner et al, ; Skarbit et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Seasonal variability can be observed in Nagano, where the temperature difference between LCZ 3 (compact low-rise) and LCZ D (low plants) shows a remarkable decrease in spring/summer due to the changes in land surface properties caused by the flooding of rice fields (Stewart et al, 2014). Houet and Pigeon (2011) and Fenner et al (2017) have also reported annual variabilities in the inter-UCZ/LCZ temperature differences, and observationbased studies generally indicate that cloud-free days with low wind speeds in the summer favour pronounced temperature differences between LCZs (e.g., Alexander and Mills, 2014;Lehnert et al, 2015;Fenner et al, 2017). Regarding the diurnal variability, the UHI is commonly known as a nocturnal phenomenon (Oke, 1981;Cleugh and Grimmond, 2012), which has been confirmed by previous UHI studies using the LCZ concept (Alexander and Mills, 2014;Leconte et al, 2015;Fenner et al, 2017;Skarbit et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How well does the local climate zone scheme discern the thermal environment of Toulouse (France)? An analysis using numerical simulation data

Kwok

Schoetter

Lau

et al. 2019

Intl Journal of Climatology

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To build healthy, resilient, and climate‐responsive cities, planners need ways to understand the local complexities of urban thermal climates. To assist in meeting this need, this study employs the simple classification of “local climate zones” (LCZs) to conduct a spatiotemporal thermal climatic analysis of the Toulouse Metropolitan Region (France) under warm and dry summer conditions. Simulations are performed using the mesoscale atmospheric model Méso‐NH. These simulations provide a city‐wide spatial coverage of 2‐m air temperature (T2M), mean radiant temperature (MRT), and Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI). Model parameters describing the urban morphology are initialized based on administrative databases and independent of LCZ maps, which allows for an evaluation of whether the distributions of the modelled thermal climatic parameters will differ between LCZs. The results show that different LCZs possess significantly different distributions of T2M and MRT, confirming the suitability of the LCZ scheme for discerning the thermal environment of Toulouse. Compact urban settings (LCZ 1/2/3) show the highest T2M throughout the day and a nocturnal temperature difference of up to 2.8 K compared to rural settings. The MRT of LCZ 1/2/3 in the late afternoon (1700–2000 LST (UTC + 2)) can be as much as 6.3 K lower than it is for LCZs with open settings due to shading by dense urban structures. Additional analysis reveals that the intra‐LCZ variabilities of T2M and MRT may be explained by the distance to the city centre. Finally, the thermal stress in different LCZs is assessed with the modelled UTCI. Among the built LCZs, the probability of strong heat stress is the highest for open high/mid‐rise (LCZ 4/5) and lowest for sparsely built (LCZ 9) and open low‐rise (LCZ 6) settings. For land cover type LCZs, dense trees (LCZ A) are the most favourable for daytime outdoor human thermal comfort.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

How well does the local climate zone scheme discern the thermal environment of Toulouse (France)? An analysis using numerical simulation data

Kwok

Schoetter

Lau

et al. 2019

Intl Journal of Climatology

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Integrated Assessment of Urban Overheating Impacts on Human Life

Nazarian

Krayenhoff

Bechtel

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Urban overheating, driven by global climate change and urban development, is a major contemporary challenge that substantially impacts urban livability and sustainability. Overheating represents a multifaceted threat to the well-being, performance, and health of individuals as well as the energy efficiency and economy of cities, and it is influenced by complex interactions between building, city, and global scale climates. In recent decades, extensive discipline-specific research has characterized urban heat and assessed its implications on human life, including ongoing efforts to bridge neighboring disciplines. The research horizon now encompasses complex problems involving a wide range of disciplines, and therefore comprehensive and integrated assessments are needed that address such interdisciplinarity. Here, our objective is to go beyond a review of existing literature and instead provide a broad overview and integrated assessments of urban overheating, defining holistic pathways for addressing the impacts on human life. We (a) detail the characterization of heat hazards and exposure across different scales and in various disciplines, (b) identify individual sensitivities to urban overheating that increase vulnerability and cause adverse impacts in different populations, (c) elaborate on adaptive capacities that individuals and cities can adopt, (d) document the impacts of urban overheating on health and energy, and (e) discuss frontiers of theoretical and applied urban climatology, built environment design, and governance toward reduction of heat exposure and vulnerability at various scales. The most critical challenges in future research and application are identified, targeting both the gaps and the need for greater integration in overheating assessments.Plain Language Summary Many major cities are faced with the compounding effects of climate change and rapid urbanization. One of the main challenges that result is urban overheating, which leads to negative impacts on human life (deteriorating health, productivity, and well-being) and urban energy systems. Heat exposure in cities, however, is only the trigger and there are other factors that influence impacts. Urban heat vulnerability exists when sensitive people and infrastructure are exposed to extreme heat, and negative impacts ensue if there is a lack of capacity to respond and adapt. Accordingly, to combat overheating challenges, it is critical that multidisciplinary solutions are integrated to mitigate exposure, reduce sensitivity, and increase adaptive capacities. This paper provides an integrated assessment of urban overheating literature, defining pathways for addressing the impacts on human life. We review the state-of-the-art methods used to quantify heat hazards and exposure, detail the sensitivity of people and infrastructure to overheating, and elaborate on the adaptive capacities that individuals and cities can undertake in response. We provide recommendations for both researchers and policymakers that will minimize overheating impacts. Thes...

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