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Atmosphere
Special Issues
Hazards, Urbanization, and Climate Change
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Hazards, Urbanization, and Climate Change

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Climatology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (3 July 2021) | Viewed by 10827

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Kangning Huang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
Interests: Urbanization; Urban Climate; Land Change Science; Sustainability
Dr. Olga Wilhelmi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
Interests: Weather hazards, Climate change, GIS, Risk, Resilience
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate and society are co-evolving in a manner that can place more people at risk from environmental hazards. Climate change and urbanization are among prominent global challenges that reshape our contemporary society and contribute to an increased risk from environmental hazards. Prior research demonstrated that climate change leads to more frequent and severer heat waves, floods, droughts, and wildfires, while urbanization worsens these hazards with stronger urban heat island effect and surface runoff, as well as higher water demand and larger wildland-urban interface. The interaction among climate change, urbanization, and environmental hazards is complex and less understood. There is a knowledge gap regarding how climate change and urbanization interact, synergistically or counteractively, in intensifying the severity of—and the exposure to—environmental hazards. Without filling this knowledge gap, we may be ill-prepared to mitigate the increasingly sever hazards in urban areas, where the majority of world’s population lives.

This Special Issue in the open-access journal Atmosphere aims to advance our understanding of the interactions among climate change and urbanization and their compound effect on the environmental hazards. We invite contributions that investigate how climate change and urbanization affect hazards, including heat waves, floods, droughts, and wildfires. In particular, we encourage submissions that quantify the relative contributions from—and the potential interactions between—climate change and urbanization. Contributions can include original research with the results generated by modeling or observational studies, as well as comprehensive literature reviews on the interactions among climate change, urbanization and environmental hazards.   

Dr. Kangning Huang
Dr. Olga Wilhelmi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • environmental hazards
  • climate change
  • climate adaptation
  • urbanization
  • urban climate
  • human-environment interaction
  • risk reduction

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 3510 KiB  
Article
Impacts of Projected Urban Expansion on Rainfall and Temperature during Rainy Season in the Middle-Eastern Region in Tanzania
by Doreen M. Anande and Moon-Soo Park
Atmosphere 2021, 12(10), 1234; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12101234 - 22 Sep 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2410
Abstract
Future changes of land use and land cover (LULC) due to urbanization can cause variations in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, affecting local climate and potentially worsening impact of such events. This work examines the local climatic impacts associated with [...] Read more.
Future changes of land use and land cover (LULC) due to urbanization can cause variations in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, affecting local climate and potentially worsening impact of such events. This work examines the local climatic impacts associated with projected urban expansion through simulations of rainfall and temperature over the rapidly growing city of the middle-eastern region in Tanzania. Simulations were conducted using a mesoscale Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model for a period of 10 days during the rainfall season in April 2018. The Global Forecasting System data of 0.25° resolution was used to simulate the WRF model in two-way nested domains at resolutions of 12 km and 4 km correspondingly. Urban and built-up areas under the current state, low urbanization (30%), and high urbanization (99%) scenarios were taken into account as LULC categories. As the urbanized area increased, daily mean, maximum and minimum air temperatures, as well as precipitation increased. Local circulation affected the spatial irregularities of air temperature and precipitation. Results imply that urbanization can amplify the impacts of future climate changes dramatically. These results can be applicable to the city planning to minimize the adverse effect of urbanization on temperature and precipitation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hazards, Urbanization, and Climate Change)
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14 pages, 3837 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Climate Change on Urban Thermal Environment Dynamics
by Igor Žiberna, Nataša Pipenbaher, Daša Donša, Sonja Škornik, Mitja Kaligarič, Lučka Kajfež Bogataj, Zalika Črepinšek, Veno Jaša Grujić and Danijel Ivajnšič
Atmosphere 2021, 12(9), 1159; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12091159 - 09 Sep 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2412
Abstract
The human population is increasing. The ongoing urbanization process, in conjunction with climate change, is causing larger environmental footprints. Consequently, quality of life in urban systems worldwide is under immense pressure. Here, the seasonal characteristics of Maribor’s urban thermal environment were studied from [...] Read more.
The human population is increasing. The ongoing urbanization process, in conjunction with climate change, is causing larger environmental footprints. Consequently, quality of life in urban systems worldwide is under immense pressure. Here, the seasonal characteristics of Maribor’s urban thermal environment were studied from the perspectives of surface urban heat island (SUHI) and urban heat island (UHI) A remote sensing thermal imagery time series and in-situ measurements (stationary and mobile) were combined with select geospatial predictor variables to model this atmospheric phenomenon in its most intensive season (summer). Finally, CMIP6 climate change scenarios and models were considered, to predict future UHI intensity. Results indicate that Maribor’s UHI intensity maximum shifted from winter to spring and summer. The implemented generalized additive model (GAM) underestimates UHI intensity in some built-up parts of the study area and overestimates UHI intensity in green vegetated areas. However, by the end of the century, UHI magnitude could increase by more than 60% in the southern industrial part of the city. Such studies are of particular concern, in regards to the increasing frequency of heat waves due to climate change, which further increases the (already present) heat stress in cities across the globe. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hazards, Urbanization, and Climate Change)
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23 pages, 35718 KiB  
Article
Urbanization and Winter Precipitation: A Case Study Analysis of Land Surface Sensitivity
by Bradford D. Johnson, Marcus D. Williams and J. Marshall Shepherd
Atmosphere 2021, 12(7), 805; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12070805 - 23 Jun 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2529
Abstract
Urban modification of precipitation regimes is well documented in the urban climate literature. Studies investigating urbanization and non-convective precipitation, specifically winter precipitation, are limited. The theoretical framework here argues that the collective influence of urbanization extends beyond traditional city limits and the surrounding [...] Read more.
Urban modification of precipitation regimes is well documented in the urban climate literature. Studies investigating urbanization and non-convective precipitation, specifically winter precipitation, are limited. The theoretical framework here argues that the collective influence of urbanization extends beyond traditional city limits and the surrounding rural areas and can impact regional climate in non-adjacent cities. This paper utilizes the weather research and forecasting model (WRF-ARW) to simulate a cold-season synoptic system over the Northeastern United States over a variety of urban land surface scenarios. This case study centers on the potential boundary layer urban heat island effect on the lower troposphere and its ability to impact winter precipitation type at the local to regional scales. Results show a significant reduction in temperatures near the modified surface and subtle reductions over adjacent urban areas. When surface wind speeds are less than 5 ms−1, the boundary layer heat island increases air temperatures on the order of 3–4 °C at altitudes up to 925 mb. When combined with encroaching warm air near 850 mb during transitional precipitation events, the boundary layer heat island increases the thickness of the melting layer and consequently exposes falling hydrometeors to longer melting duration and phase change. Model simulations also show regional connections through remote temperature and relative humidity changes in urban areas removed from reforested areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hazards, Urbanization, and Climate Change)
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14 pages, 4195 KiB  
Article
Characteristics of Summer Hourly Extreme Precipitation Events and Its Local Environmental Influencing Factors in Beijing under Urbanization Background
by Zuofang Zheng, Guirong Xu and Hua Gao
Atmosphere 2021, 12(5), 632; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12050632 - 16 May 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2099
Abstract
Studies on urban extreme precipitation and its influencing factors are significant for prevention and reduction of meteorological disasters; however, few studies focus on hourly extreme precipitation (HEP) events due to the limitation of observation. By using the summer hourly precipitation data in Beijing [...] Read more.
Studies on urban extreme precipitation and its influencing factors are significant for prevention and reduction of meteorological disasters; however, few studies focus on hourly extreme precipitation (HEP) events due to the limitation of observation. By using the summer hourly precipitation data in Beijing from 1980 to 2020, the spatial distribution and temporal variation of HEP as well as its local environmental influencing factors are investigated. It is found that both summer precipitation amount and frequency of HEP are affected by topography, with high values in windward slope area. The summer precipitation amount of HEP is 160–200 mm, accounting for 42–47% of the annual summer precipitation amount, while the frequency proportion of HEP is only 5.5–6.0%. Although the summer precipitation amount and frequency in Beijing both decrease in the past 41 years, those for HEP present an opposite trend mainly due to the increasing HEP since 2003 and this is a phenomenon worthy of attention. A similar bimodal pattern in diurnal variation is found for the summer precipitation amount and frequency of HEP, with two peaks in 19–22 LT and 01–05 LT, respectively, indicating that HEPs are more concentrated in the evening and early morning especially in urban area. Moreover, the urbanization process of Beijing is consistent with the change trend of HEP, implying that the stronger the urban heat island intensity (UHI), the higher the probability of HEP. Furthermore, the convergence lines of terrain are also conducive to local heavy rainfall, and lower tropospheric stability (LTS) and convective available potential energy (CAPE) as well as aerosols may also affect HEP in Beijing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hazards, Urbanization, and Climate Change)
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