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Review of Urban Climatology 1973-1976

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Review of Urban Climatology 1973-1976 WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION TECHNICAL NOTE No. 169 REVIEW OF URBAN CLIMATOLOGY 1973-1976 by T. R. Oke CoSAMC Rapporteur on Urban Climatology WMO - No. 539 Secrétariat of the World Meteorologîcal Organization - Geneva - Switzerland The WMO The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations of which 145 States and Territories are Members. It was created: — To facilitate international co-operation in the establishment of networks of stations for making meteorological and geophysical observations and centres to provide meteoro­ logical services and observations; — To promote the establishment and maintenance of Systems for the rapid exchange of meteorological information; — To promote standardization of meteorological observations and cnsure the uniform publication of observations and statistics; — To further the application of meteorology to aviation, shipping, water problems, agri­ culture, and other human activities; — To encourage research and training in meteorology. The machinery of the Organization consists of the following bodics: The World Meteorological Congress, the suprême body of the Organization, brings together the delegates of ail Members once every four years to détermine gênerai policies for the fulfilment of the purposes of the Organization, to adopt Technical Régulations relating to international meteorological practice and to détermine the WMO programme. The Executive Committee is composed of 24 directors of national Meteorological Services and meets at least once a year to conduct the activities of the Organization and to implement the décisions taken by its Members in Congress, to study and make recommendations on matters affecting international meteorology and the opération of meteorological services. The six Régional Associations (Africa, Asia, Soutli America, North and Central America, South-West Pacific and Europe), which are composed of Member Governments, co-ordinate meteorological activity within their respective Régions and examine from the régional point of view ail questions referred to them. The eight Technical Commissions, composed of experts designated by Members, are responsible for studying the spécial technical branches related to meteorological observation, analysis, forecasting and researcli as well as to the applications of meteorology. Technical commissions bave been established for basic Systems, instruments and methods of observa­ tion, atmospheric sciences, aeronautical meteorology, agricultural mcteorology, marine meteorology, hydrology, and spécial applications of meteorology and climatology. The Secrétariat, located at Geneva, Switzerland, is composed of an international scientific, technical and administrative staff under the direction of the Secretary-General. It undertakes technical studies and is responsible for the numerous technical assistance and other technical co-operation projects in meteorology throughout the world aimed at contributing to économie development of the countries concerned. It also publishes specialized technical notes, guides, manuals and reports and in gênerai acts as the link between the Meteorological Services of the world. The Secrétariat works in close collaboration with the United Nations and other specialized agencies. WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION TECHNICAL NOTE No. 169 REVIEW OF URBAN CLMATOLOGY 1973-1976 by T. R. Oke CoSAMC Rapporteur on Urban Climatology U.D.C. 551.588.7 WMO - No. 539 Secrétariat of the World Meteorological Organization - Geneva - Switzerland 1979 © 1979, World Meteorological Organization ISBN 92-63-10539-1 NOTE The désignations employed and the présentation of the material in this puhlication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secrétariat of the World Meteorological Organization conceming the légal status of any country or territory or of its anthorities, or conceming the délimitation of its frontière. CONTENTS Page Foreword V Summary (English, French, Russian, Spanish) VII List of Symbols XI INTRODUCTION 1 PART I - OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES A. RADIATION BUDGET 5 1. Short-wave radiation 5 2. Long-wave radiation 11 3. Ail-wave radiation 14 B. ENERGY BALANCE 16 C. WATER BALANCE, CLOUD AND PRECIPITATION 20 1. Définition and description of anomalies 21 2. Process studies related to the development of anomalies 22 3. Impacts of anomalies 24 D. WIND FIELD 26 E. TEMPERATURE (HEAT ISLAND) 36 1. Urban boundary layer 36 2. Urban canopy layer 42 F. HUMIDITY 47 G. OTHER 49 PART II - MODELLING STUDIES A. CANOPY LAYER 53 1. Statistical models 53 2. Theoretical and semi-empiric models 53 3. Scale models 56 B. BOUNDARY LAYER 56 1. Energy balance models 57 2. Advective intégral models 59 3. Dynamic differential models 59 4. Scale models 67 REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY 70 FOREWORD In récent years the application of climatology to urban planning problems has received particular attention within the WMO Commission for Climatology and Applications of Meteorology*. In 1974 WMO published a Technical Note under the title "Review of Urban Climatology, 1968-1973", the text of which had been prepared by Professor T. R. Oke (Canada) who had been appointed by the Commission as Rapporteur on this subject. At its sixth session the Commission considered this subject and recognized the need to continue to follow the developments. Professor Oke was accordingly invited once again to serve as a Rapporteur and, inter alia, to prépare a report to complément the material contained in the above Technical Note. The Commission at its seventh session (1978) commended Professor Oke for the excellent report prepared by him in response to this request and agreed that it should be published in the WMO Technical Note séries. The présent publication, entitled "Review of Urban Climatology, 1973-1976" contains this report. I should like to take this opportunity of expressing the gratitude of the World Meteorological Organization to Professor T. R. Oke for his valuable report on a subject of great topical interest. /-—> P.—X-^ " 4M m u D. A. DAVIES Secretary-General Prior to 1979 this Commission was known as the Commission for Spécial Applications of Meteorology and Climatology. SUMMARY This publication reviews developments in the fields of urban climatology and meteorology in the period 1973-1976 inclusive. It therefore forms an addendum to WMO Technical Note No. 134 "Review of Urban Climatology 1968-1973" produced earlier by the author. The organization of the report follows that of the earlier one and the combined bibliographies along with that produced by Chandler (WMO Publication No. 276, 1970) provide a reasonably comprehensive coverage of litera- ture in urban climatology. The report is in two parts. The first concentrâtes on observational studies including research into the radiation, energy and water balances of cities, inadvertent modification of cloud and précipitation and the perturbation of wind, température and moisture fields by urban areas. The second part deals with attempts to construct models (scale, statis- tical and theoretical) to simulate the atmosphère both below urban roof-level and in the overlying urban boundary layer. The models range from those aimed at statistical prédiction of a single climatic variable to those attempting to simulate the three-dimensional characteristics of the urban boundary layer. RESUME Cette publication passe en revue les études faites dans le domaine de la climatologie et de la météorologie urbaines de 1973 à 1976. Elle constitue, donc, un additif à la Note technique N° 134 de l'OMM, intitulée "Review of Urban Climatology 1968-1973", déjà préparée par l'auteur. Ce rapport est présenté de la même manière que le précédent et les deux bibliographies combinées, avec celle qu'a établie Chandler (Publication WMO-No. 276, 1970), donnent un aperçu assez complet des ouvrages publiés au sujet de la climatologie urbaine. Le rapport se divise en deux parties. La première est essentiellement consacrée à des études fondées sur l'observation, notamment les recherches concer­ nant les bilans radiatif, énergétique et hydrique des villes, la modification involontaire des nuages et des précipitations et les effets perturbateurs des zones urbaines sur les champs de vent, de température et d'humidité. La seconde partie traite des tentatives de construction de modèles (réduits, statistiques et théoriques) pour simuler l'atmosphère tant au-dessous qu'au-dessus du niveau des toits en ville. Les modèles vont de ceux dont le but est la prévision statistique d'une seule variable climatique à ceux qui s'efforcent de simuler les caractéristiques tridimensionnelles de la couche limite urbaine. PE3KME B jjaHHofi nyôjiHKaiïHH paccMaTpHBaioTCfl jjocTHMceHHH B oôJiacTH ropoflCKoft KJIHMaTOJIOrHH H MeTeopojiorHH 3a nepHOfl 1973-1976 rr. BKjiioqHTejibHO. TaKHM 0ôpa3OM, 9Ta nyÔjiHKaiJçHfl HBJineTCH jjonojiHeHHeM K TexHH^iecKoiî 3airacKe BMO W 134 "063op ropoflCKoô KjiHMaTOJiorHH 3a 1968-1973 rr.", HanncaHHOH GTKM ace aBTopoM paHee. CTpyKTypa jjaHHoro omeTa coBnajjaeT c nocTpoeHHeM npefltmy- meô padoTH, a od'LeflHHeHHafl ÔHô'jiHorpa<|)HH BMecie co cnncKOM jiHTepaTypu, npn- BOflHMOM IIIaHflJiepoM (ilydjiHKaiïHH BMO W- 276, 1970 r.), npeflCTaBJineT coôofî JJO- CTaTO^HO fflHpOKHH CÏÏHCOK JIHTepaTypH B OOJiaCTH ropOflCKOH KJIHMaTOJIOrHH. OïtieT no,n;pa3^ejiHeTCH Ha #Be ^acTH: nepBajî KOHiieHTpnpyeTCH Ha HC- CJieflOBaHHtfX, OCHOBaHHHX Ha HaÔJIWfleHHHX, BKJHO^aH HCCJieflOBaHHH paflHaiïHH, SHepreTH^ecKoro H BOjjHoro dajiaHca ropoflOB, HenpejjHaMepeHHoro BO3JJ,6HCTBHH Ha oôJia^HOCTB
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