Publicação
Nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation: impact on urban heat and air quality
| Resumo: | Climate change (CC) is the main global threat of this century as the foreseen increased frequency, intensity, and/or duration of extreme weather events will impact natural and human systems. CC is expected to influence urban living conditions, in particular, air pollution and urban heating that cause high morbidity and mortality rates and, hence, challenging cities to adopt mitigation and adaptation measures. One of the suggested measures is Nature-based solutions (NBS). The main objective of this work was to assess the impact of NBS on urban heat and air quality for present and future climate scenarios to evaluate the effectiveness of these solutions for climate change adaptation. Three European urban areas with different characteristics and challenges were chosen as case studies: Eindhoven (Netherlands), Genova (Italy) and Tampere (Finland). An extensive assessment of climate, atmospheric emissions, and air quality showed that the case study areas had meaningful air quality improvement over the last decade (except for ozone concentrations). However, cities still struggle to comply with newer and more rigorous air quality limit or guidance values. Temperature projections obtained with the WRF model, at 1 km x 1 km spatial resolution, based on the RCP4.5 scenario, indicated an overall warming, particularly in Eindhoven. Multiple NBS scenarios were tested for the case studies, using the WRF-chem chemical transport model. The results were very similar between cities and scenarios, demonstrating that NBS were more effective in reducing urban heat than improving air quality. Based on 1-year-long air quality simulations for current and future climates, a stronger impact of NBS was seen during warmer months with urban heat decreasing up to -1 ºC. The air quality impact was low, with a predisposition for nitrogen dioxide increase (P90 = 3.40 μg/m3) and a decrease in ozone concentration (P10 = -2.20 μg/m3). Despite the effects of NBS, overall, the changes promoted by CC were more impactful. This study highlights the effectiveness of NBS in mitigating urban heat, thereby improving citizens' overall health and well-being. This study also advises about the need for NBS to be context-adapted and emphasizes the importance of long-term planning to account for climate change impacts, providing a framework for future NBS projects. |
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| Autores principais: | Ascenso, Ana Filipa Isidoro |
| Assunto: | Nature-based solutions Chemical transport model City scale Air quality Urban heat Climate change |
| Ano: | 2024 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | tese de doutoramento |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade de Aveiro |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | RIA - Repositório Institucional da Universidade de Aveiro |
| Resumo: | Climate change (CC) is the main global threat of this century as the foreseen increased frequency, intensity, and/or duration of extreme weather events will impact natural and human systems. CC is expected to influence urban living conditions, in particular, air pollution and urban heating that cause high morbidity and mortality rates and, hence, challenging cities to adopt mitigation and adaptation measures. One of the suggested measures is Nature-based solutions (NBS). The main objective of this work was to assess the impact of NBS on urban heat and air quality for present and future climate scenarios to evaluate the effectiveness of these solutions for climate change adaptation. Three European urban areas with different characteristics and challenges were chosen as case studies: Eindhoven (Netherlands), Genova (Italy) and Tampere (Finland). An extensive assessment of climate, atmospheric emissions, and air quality showed that the case study areas had meaningful air quality improvement over the last decade (except for ozone concentrations). However, cities still struggle to comply with newer and more rigorous air quality limit or guidance values. Temperature projections obtained with the WRF model, at 1 km x 1 km spatial resolution, based on the RCP4.5 scenario, indicated an overall warming, particularly in Eindhoven. Multiple NBS scenarios were tested for the case studies, using the WRF-chem chemical transport model. The results were very similar between cities and scenarios, demonstrating that NBS were more effective in reducing urban heat than improving air quality. Based on 1-year-long air quality simulations for current and future climates, a stronger impact of NBS was seen during warmer months with urban heat decreasing up to -1 ºC. The air quality impact was low, with a predisposition for nitrogen dioxide increase (P90 = 3.40 μg/m3) and a decrease in ozone concentration (P10 = -2.20 μg/m3). Despite the effects of NBS, overall, the changes promoted by CC were more impactful. This study highlights the effectiveness of NBS in mitigating urban heat, thereby improving citizens' overall health and well-being. This study also advises about the need for NBS to be context-adapted and emphasizes the importance of long-term planning to account for climate change impacts, providing a framework for future NBS projects. |
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