Present and projected future mean radiant temperature for three European cities

Present-day and projected future changes in mean radiant temperature, T mrt in one northern, one mid-, and one southern European city (represented by Gothenburg, Frankfurt, and Porto), are presented, and the concept of hot spots is adopted. Air temperature, T a , increased in all cities by 2100, but changes in solar radiation due to changes in cloudiness counterbalanced or exacerbated the effects on T mrt. The number of days with high T mrt in Gothenburg was relatively unchanged at the end of the century (+1 day), whereas it more than doubled in Frankfurt and tripled in Porto. The use of street trees to reduce daytime radiant heat load was analyzed using hot spots to identify where trees could be most beneficial. Hot spots, although varying in intensity and frequency, were generally confined to near sunlit southeast-southwest facing walls, in northeast corner of courtyards, and in open spaces in all three cities. By adding trees in these spaces, the radiant heat load can be reduced, especially in spaces with no or few trees. A set of design principles for reducing the radiant heat load is outlined based on these findings and existing literature

Urban climate multi-scale modelling in Bilbao (Spain): a review

Despite development of cities are including more sustainable aspects (e.g. reduction of energy consumption), urban climate still needs to be consolidated as an important variable in urban planning. In this sense, the analysis of urban climate requires a multiscale approach. This work presents a review of the results of the analysis of urban climate in Bilbao (Spain). In the meso-scale, an Urban Climate Map (UC-Map) is developed using a method based on GIS calculations, specific climatic measurements and urban climate expert knowledge. All the information is grouped in 5 information layers (building volume, building surface fraction, urban green areas, ventilation paths and slopes). The final UC-Map presents areas with relative homogeneous climate variables (i.e. climatopes) that are classified in terms of thermal comfort. Urban planning recommendations are defined. In the micro-scale, results extracted from ENVI-met model in four urban spaces show the influence in thermal comfort levels of the interaction of regional climate conditions with the urban development characteristics of each area and the location inside the whole city. In both spatial scales, climate modelling should be accompanied by specific measurement campaigns to validate results.Basque Science, Technology and Innovation Plan under the Project K-Egokitzen European Community's Seventh Framework Programme under, Project RAMSES - Reconciling Adaptation, Mitigation and Sustainable Development for Citie

Conforto térmico em espaços públicos de passagem: estudos em ruas de pedestres no estado de São Paulo

Este artigo apresenta resultados de um estudo sobre conforto térmico em espaços públicos de passagem, em ruas de pedestres nas cidades de Campinas, Bauru e Presidente Prudente, no Estado de São Paulo. O estudo foi desenvolvido dentro de uma pesquisa mais ampla sobre o conforto térmico em diferentes tipos de espaços urbanos abertos, nas mesmas cidades. A metodologia empregada envolveu o monitoramento microclimático (temperatura, temperatura de globo, umidade relativa do ar, velocidade do ar e radiação solar global), em diferentes condições de tempo, e entrevistas estruturadas, para identificar a sensação térmica e as variáveis pessoais dos usuários. A análise dos resultados permitiu identificar diferenças entre a sensação térmica real (ASV) e o conforto calculado pela temperatura fisiológica equivalente (PET). Os limites de conforto térmico variaram entre as cidades: 20-29 ºC para Campinas, 21-30 ºC para Bauru, e 14-24 ºC para Presidente Prudente. Entretanto, a sensação de neutralidade térmica para 59,5% do total da amostra (308 de 519 indivíduos) foi de 18 a 26 ºC. Esses resultados são compatíveis com os limites propostos por Monteiro e Alucci (2007) para a cidade de São Paulo e podem contribuir como parâmetro de avaliação da qualidade térmica de outros espaços públicos de passagem nas mesmas cidades

Klima und Planung: Marburg - stadtklimatisches Gutachten fuer den Universitaetsbereich Marburg Lahnberge. Raeumliche Verteilung von Atemwegserkrankungen in Abhaengigkeit der stadtklimatischen Bedingungen am Beispiel Kassel. Die meteorologischen Verhaeltnisse im Raum Hann. Muenden

SIGLECopy held by FIZ Karlsruhe; available from UB/TIB Hannover / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

Developing a high-resolution physiological equivalent temperature map to assess the spatial variation of thermal stress exposure for an elderly cohort of Chinese in Hong Kong

Conference Theme: From Local to Global: Advancing Science for Policy in Environmental Health!Poster Session 1: Temperature, Meterology, and Climate ChangePhysiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) is an universal thermal stress measure which is calculated from air temperature (Ta), relative humidity (RH), wind velocity (WV) and mean radiant temperature (MRT) of an environment. Spatial analysis is essential to long term health effect study of thermal stress. To facilitate the spatial analysis on an elderly cohort living in urban areas of Hong Kong with over 10 years follow up, a high- resolution (100m x 100m) PET map which represents a typical pattern of thermal stress conditions during the baseline period (2000 – 2001) is suggested. Unfortunately and except for RH data, past meteorological data from the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) are not of sufficient detail to take account of the complex terrain and dense urban morphology of Hong Kong. We propose to estimate meteorological surfaces of Ta, WV and MRT for a typical climate condition in Hong Kong at the baseline, and then calculate the PET at each grid cell. The geographic information systems is used to undertake the following processsing. The Ta surface is estimated from NASA Landsat thermal satellite images at the baseline and adjusted using the hourly Ta data from the HKO. The WV surface is estimated by Ground Coverage Ratio, which is highly correlated with WV ratio at pedestrian level, and adjusted with WV data from the HKO. The spatial difference of MRT, which is highly correlated to urban morphology, is estimated using Sky View Factor. The procedure is replicated using data in recent years to produce a PET map for 2008, which is compared against the Urban Climate Analysis Map of Hong Kong created by the Planning Department, to verify the proposed methodology. This methodology provides a feasible way to construct high-resolution map for thermal stress exposure in a city with complicated urban environment over longer time frame, and copes with the limitation of data availability in many long term environmental health researches. Acknowledgement: RGC grant 780512

Urban Climate Map System for Dutch spatial planning

Facing climate change and global warming, outdoor climatic environment is an important consideration factor for planners and policy makers because improving it can greatly contribute to achieve citizen’s thermal comfort and create a better urban living quality for adaptation. Thus, the climatic information must be assessed systematically and applied strategically into the planning process. This paper presents a tool named Urban Climate Map System (UCMS) that has proven capable of helping compact cities to incorporate climate effects in planning processes in a systematic way. UCMS is developed and presented in a Geographic Information System (GIS) platform in which the lessons learned and experience gained from interdisciplinary studies can be included. The methodology of UCMS of compact cities, the construction procedure, and the basic input factors – including the natural climate resources and planning data – are described. Some literatures that shed light on the applicability of UMCS are reported. The Municipality of Arnhem is one of Dutch compact urban areas and still under fast urban development and urban renewal. There is an urgent need for local planners and policy makers to protect local climate and open landscape resources and make climate change adaptation in urban construction. Thus, Arnhem is chosen to carry out a case study of UCMS. Although it is the first work of Urban Climatic Mapping in The Netherlands, it serves as a useful climatic information platform to local planners and policy makers for their daily on-going works. We attempt to use a quick method to collect available climatic and planning data and create an information platform for planning use. It relies mostly on literature and theoretical understanding that has been well practiced elsewhere. The effort here is to synergize the established understanding for a case at hand and demonstrate how useful guidance can still be made for planners and policy makers

Future Cities- Analyse van het hitte-eilandeffect op Arnhem

Om vast te stellen of steden in Nederland ook hitte-eilanden zijn, is in augustus 2009, zowel in Arnhem als in Rotterdam, een temperatuurmeting uitgevoerd. Met een bakfiets vol meet apparatuur heeft Wageningen Universiteit op hete dagen in en om Arnhem en Rotterdam gefietst en is de temperatuur gemeten. Uit de voorlopige resultaten blijkt dat er sprake is van een temperatuurverschil van maximaal 7 °C tussen de temperatuur binnen en buiten de stad. Dit verschil is zowel in Arnhem als in Rotterdam aangetroffen. De omvang van de stad lijkt er niet toe te doen. Maar wat dan wel? Wat veroorzaakt nu het hitte-eilandeffect voor een stad als Arnhem