ICUC12-649, updated on 21 May 2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/icuc12-649
12th International Conference on Urban Climate
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Co-creation of an interactive climate visualization tool towards the adaptation of Swedish cities to heat 
Jorge H. Amorim1, Aitor Aldama Campino1, Christian Asker1, Carlo Navarra2, Tina Schmid Neset2, Nico Reski3, Isabel Ribeiro1, David Segersson1, Katerina Vrotsou3, Fuxing Wang1, Emma Wingstedt1, and Lotten Wiréhn2
Jorge H. Amorim et al.
  • 1Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), Research department, Norrköping, Sweden
  • 2Linköping University, Department of Thematic Studies – Environmental Change, Linköping, Sweden
  • 3Linköping University, Department of Science and Technology, Linköping, Sweden

The record hot summer of 2018 and IPCC projections for Northern Europe have raised awareness of the potential impacts of heat on human comfort and health even over high-latitude cities. However, only one-third of Swedish municipalities have developed routines, checklists and action plans to counter extreme heat. It is amply agreed that the creation of adaptation strategies and action plans for heatwaves in the future should be based on reliable, detailed and tailored climate data, which is lacking.

Realising this challenge, this study presents the results from the on-going multi-disciplinary research project BRIGHT - Advancing knowledge and tools for the adaptation of Swedish cities to heat, with a focus on:

(1) an event-based dynamical downscaling of the urban climate of selected Swedish cities for present and future climate. Results are presented at both 300 m and 1 m resolution with the goal of providing a complete description of the meteorological conditions affecting human comfort.

(2) summer campaigns with a network of low-cost thermohygrometers for the period 2022-2024. These observations provide a better representation of the spatial variability of temperature and humidity across different local climate zones. We look specifically at the urban heat island of Stockholm and the cooling effect of parks.

(3) a citizen sensing mobile application has been developed and put into action during the summers of 2023 and 2024 with the objective of engaging urban dwellers in providing feedback on perceived thermal comfort. These results are analysed with the help of local weather observations and model data.

(4) an interactive visualization tool prototype is being co-designed with municipal stakeholders with the goal of assisting in their climate adaptation work. This tool enables the identification of hot spots, which may represent an additional risk during a heat wave, and of cooler areas, usually associated with urban green infrastructure.

How to cite: Amorim, J. H., Aldama Campino, A., Asker, C., Navarra, C., Schmid Neset, T., Reski, N., Ribeiro, I., Segersson, D., Vrotsou, K., Wang, F., Wingstedt, E., and Wiréhn, L.: Co-creation of an interactive climate visualization tool towards the adaptation of Swedish cities to heat , 12th International Conference on Urban Climate, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 7–11 Jul 2025, ICUC12-649, https://doi.org/10.5194/icuc12-649, 2025.

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