Studies of urban climates and air pollution in Switzerland

Abstract

In addition to an assessment of the factors that are responsible for urban climate change, this paper describes climatological studies and peculiarities of some Swiss cities. In almost every city, research efforts have concentrated on the dynamics of temperature stratification and airflow. Because of the smaller size of Swiss urban areas and the existence of complex topography, the interactions between three effects important for transport and dispersion of air pollutants must be studied. These interactions involve heat islands and city-induced airflows, the influence of synoptic winds on boundary layer airflows and the significance of local airflows in complex terrain.