Recent progress on urban climate study in Japan

Abstract

A review of urban climate studies in Japan since 1980 is presented. First, we describe recent research on an urban heat island. In this section, we focus on the heat island with a scale larger than a single city, heterogeneous temperature distribution in an urban district, and quantitative analysis of the formation mechanism of the heat island using numerical models. We then summarize the interaction between a sea breeze and a heat island. Cloud formation and precipitation over the urban area are also summarized. Furthermore, recent studies on the estimation of urban surface parameters and anthropogenic heat maps are briefly described. Observational studies on the urban canopy layer are also introduced. Some recent studies on urban planning are introduced, focusing on the cooling effect of parks and rivers on the urban temperature. Finally, we conclude the review by describing ongoing work.