Representation of global mega-cities and their urban heat island in CORDEX-CORE regional climate model simulations
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Description
Cities are vulnerable to climate change, yet the interactions between urban and regional climate remain insufficiently understood. This study assesses the adequacy of CORDEX-CORE regional climate models in representing urban areas globally, focusing on land-surface characteristics and urban heat island (UHI) evaluation. Despite their relatively coarse resolution (~25 km), the CORDEX-CORE models can capture urban imprints of large cities. The regional climate model RegCM, with a single-layer urban canopy parameterization, represents the UHI, especially at night. REMO tends to underestimate nighttime UHI due to its simple bulk urban scheme. Across models, impervious surface areas are consistently underestimated, with notable geographic imbalances across the world. Advancing regional climate model simulations for cities requires both enhanced urban parameterizations, as well as the integration of urban land-use data in the models. The findings support the next phase of CMIP6 downscaling and enhance ongoing efforts in regional and urban climate modeling.
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Manuscript_Langendijk_CORDEX-CORE_VS1_Pre-Print.pdf
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(3.0 MB)
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