World Urban Morphological Parameters Open Dataset (WUMPOD)for High-Resolution Weather and Climate Modeling

The presence of cities affects local ecosystems by changing the surface energy balance and introducing anthropogenic heat, greenhouse gases, and air pollutants into the atmosphere. Currently, over 50% of the global population resides in urban areas, which increases their exposure to risks related to extreme weather and climate change. To better forecast weather and address climate adaptation and mitigation challenges, numerical weather prediction (NWP) models are beginning to integrate urban physics. However, the absence of high-quality and comprehensive urban morphology data such as building heights and footprints is still a challenge. This study introduces a high-resolution (500 m) global database developed using open data sources to support regional and global weather and climate modeling and enhance the representation of urbanization in NWP models. WUMPOD contains following urban morphological parameters; MH (mean building height), STDH (standard deviation of building height), HGT (area weighted mean building height), LP (building plan area fraction), LB (building surface to plan area fraction), LF (frontal aspect ratio for cardinal directions of 0, 45, 90, and 135 degrees), LC (complete aspect ratio), H2W (height to width ratio), HI [0-75 m] (percentage distribution of building heights at every 5 m up to 75 m), Z0M, ZDM (Roughness length and displacement height according to Macdonald et al. (1998) for 0, 45, 90, and 135 directions), Z0S, ZDS (Roughness length and displacement height according to Grimmond and Oke (1999)), Z0R, and ZDR (Roughness length and displacement height according to Raupach (1994) for 0, 45, 90, and 135 directions) and urban fraction (from WorldCover 2021). The World Urban Morphological Parameter Open Dataset (WUMPOD) is available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10039127. The dataset will be incorporated in the development of a global ancillary and a contribution to the UK Met Office Momentum partnership.