In a rapidly urbanizing and warming world, natural hazard resilience is a pressing challenge. This is particularly true in Small and Medium Sized Cities (SMSC) where significant urban growth is projected through the mid-century, where there may be limited capacity to increase resilience and less adaptive capacity to respond to cascading and complex climate impacts. While much of the attention till date has been focused on large cities and mega-urban regions, addressing this challenge likely requires knowledge co-production and integrated urban services tailored to the unique needs of these communities. 

The objective of this presentation is to highlight the importance of SMSC in the current context of climate change and how they can contribute to the Sustainable Developments Goal (SDGs), using literature review. As SMSCs undergo rapid changes, urban planning and climate change preparation became a key aspect for these spaces. Achieving this requires a deeper understanding of their urban systems and how urban climates can support sustainable and resilient development in SMSCs.

The main aspect that are having a significant impact in the field are: studies related to land used/land cover changes using remote sensing data, local climate maps generation, analysis of urban heat island (UHI) effects in both surface and canopy layers, heat waves and flooding impacts based on modeling tools or micro-meteorology related to specific areas of the city analyzing wind patterns, heat exposure, air pollution and others.

The end goal of this presentation is to come up with collaborative mechanisms of improving the preparedness and resiliency of SMSC; to find pathways and solutions to the economic and social damage caused by natural disasters. Co-producing knowledge to improve the livelihood of residents of SMSC who are destined to face more challenges in future due to the changing climate.

How to cite: Mitra, C. and Picone, N.: Why Small and Medium-Sized Cities Matters?, 12th International Conference on Urban Climate, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 7–11 Jul 2025, ICUC12-569, https://doi.org/10.5194/icuc12-569, 2025.

Climate change is intensifying and altering the frequency of extreme weather events globally. Argentina, in particular, has witnessed a surge in such events, especially during summer. Recent decades have seen devastating wildfires, prolonged droughts, intense heat waves, and severe weather phenomena, including bow echoes and tornadoes, across much of the country. This study focuses on identifying and characterizing severe summer events in Bahía Blanca in terms of meteorological conditions and their effects on the population to understand associated risks and inform future mitigation and adaptation strategies.

Three events stand out as particularly severe. First, on December 16, 2023, a bow echo event with winds exceeding 150 km/h and 60 mm of precipitation in just two hours. Second, between January 23 and February 1, 2024, the city experienced its longest recorded heat wave, with temperatures soaring above 40°C. Finally, on February 2, 2025, a rapidly developing convective storm produced devastating hail and winds over 110 km/h. These three events resulted in loss of life, critical infrastructure damage, vegetation loss, post-traumatic stress among residents, disruption of essential services for several weeks, and widespread property damage affecting nearly the entire city.

The occurrence of these three severe events within just two summers underscores the increasing frequency and intensity of such phenomena. This highlights the critical need for effective early warning systems and clear communication protocols to minimize risk. Furthermore, investing in resilient infrastructure is crucial for reducing short-term and long-term damage. Finally, developing a comprehensive climate change adaptation plan is essential for Bahía Blanca to address these escalating challenges effectively.

How to cite: Picone, N., Lambrecht, Y., Zapperi, P. A., and Gil, V.: Summer extreme events in Bahia Blanca, Argentina, 12th International Conference on Urban Climate, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 7–11 Jul 2025, ICUC12-394, https://doi.org/10.5194/icuc12-394, 2025.

In 2011, a network of 23 sensors was installed in Bragança, a small city in the North of Portugal (Koppen Geiger - Csb). It has been continuously running ever since, recording air temperature across a wide range of local climate zones (LCZs), extending beyond the city limits. The collected data was used to evaluate seasonal and spatial patterns, temporal trends, and climatic anomalies, while changes over time were also assessed. Results indicated a higher intensity of the UHI in the more urbanized Local Climate Zones (LCZs), with significantly elevated intensities during the summer (up to 4^oC). The Urban Cool Island Effect (UCI) was also notable, occurring with greater intensity during the early hours on summer days. Despite some consistency across measurements for each LCZ, microclimate effects generated variability within single classifications.  Trend analysis indicates a gradual increase of up to 2°C in air temperature over the studied period, attributable to the combined effect of urbanization and global climate change. The year 2022 stood out as the warmest in the analyzed series. The assessment of climatic anomalies shows that as urbanization intensifies, the UHI exacerbates extreme climatic events, directly impacting the urban quality of life. This underscores the urgent need for action to mitigate the effects of urbanization on climate change. Finally, some recommendations for local urban climate planning are presented, and some benefits of long-term urban meteorological monitoring in small to middle-sized cities are discussed.

How to cite: Gonçalves, A. and Rodrigues, V.: Decadal Trends in Urban Heat and Cool Islands: Insights from a Long-Term Sensor Network in Bragança, Portugal, 12th International Conference on Urban Climate, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 7–11 Jul 2025, ICUC12-690, https://doi.org/10.5194/icuc12-690, 2025.

The impact of urbanization on local atmospheric conditions presents a growing challenge to sustainable development. The surface urban heat island (sUHI), driven by anthropogenic infrastructure such as asphalts, bricks, concrete pavements, and buildings increases the land surface temperatures in cities compared to surrounding rural areas. The infrastructural density of cities influences the sUHI and has implications for the heat exposure of residents and the cooling demand for buildings during the warm season. While most research focuses on larger metropolitan cities, mid-sized cities like Waterloo (Ontario, Canada) remain understudied despite their vulnerabilities and growth trajectories. Most of these mid-sized cities lack the infrastructure of larger urban centers, making them particularly vulnerable to the impacts of sUHI, such as heat exposure for residents and increased cooling demands during warmer seasons. This impact has become particularly prescient in Canada after the 2021 BC Heat Dome, exacerbating the increasing need to address changing urban-atmospheric interactions. The city of Waterloo is working to find ways to increase community greening while simultaneously addressing the sUHI of Waterloo. This research addresses this gap by investigating the spatial and temporal patterns of the surface urban heat island of Waterloo over the past two decades, identifying the intensity of the sUHI for summer and winter seasons from recent decades, where land surface changes have resulted in an intensifying sUHI over time.  The sUHI is then integrated with remotely sensed vegetation data of the city to investigate the impact of urban green spaces on sUHI. These analyses will identify potential areas of high impact in community greening interventions by the city that may be most effective. The findings will be used in collaboration with the city to direct municipal resources to improve the sUHI and support community greening efforts among the most vulnerable in the city.

How to cite: Adebayo, F. F., Singh, G., Parker, D., and Crank, P.: Investigating Surface Urban Heat Island Patterns and Green Space Interventions in Waterloo, Ontario, 12th International Conference on Urban Climate, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 7–11 Jul 2025, ICUC12-802, https://doi.org/10.5194/icuc12-802, 2025.

Extreme heat is increasingly recognized as a growing public health threat and has been identified as the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the US over the past 30 years. While much of the UHI research is focused on large metropolitan areas, there is growing recognition that northern climates and smaller communities are increasingly experiencing extreme heat events and potentially impacted by extreme heat, however they remain understudied. To address this gap, this work seeks to better understand the drivers of extreme heat microenvironments in small cities and rural communities and to understand who is potentially exposed and where across the urban to rural development continuum. The research team collected mobile transect data and fixed point observations in ten communities across the state of Vermont to characterize the magnitude and timing of the UHI signal. High resolution spatial land cover data was used to understand the influence of proximate built environment characteristics on canopy layer air temperature. To assess the potential population level exposure to extreme heat, building footprints derived from statewide lidar data were intersected with parcel polygons and address data from the statewide E911 database to generate a residential building database. The population including demographic characteristics of age, race and income were statistically assigned across single and multi-family residential housing units at the US Census block level using the 2020 US Census. High resolution impervious surface area coverage proximate to residential buildings across the state was used a proxy for potential exposure. The resulting population level exposures, analyzed on a decile basis, demonstrate that lower income and non-White residents are disproportionately exposed across the urban-rural continuum of the study area. These results highlight the need for systemic solutions to the problem of extreme heat microenvironment exposure across communities of all sizes.

How to cite: Doran, E., Antonczak, B., King, P., and Rowangould, G.: Quantifying the Magnitude of Heat Microenvironments and Exposure Risk in Small Cities and Rural Communities, 12th International Conference on Urban Climate, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 7–11 Jul 2025, ICUC12-556, https://doi.org/10.5194/icuc12-556, 2025.

Heatwaves are emerging as a critical challenge in the urban areas in recent years. The IPCC report states that heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense due to human-induced climate change and will further worsen in South Asia during the 21st century. India experiences increasing heat exposure, with urbanization rising from 30% in 2011 to a 40% projection by 2030. Heat stress causes distress and deaths, highlighting the need for better urban planning, especially in Vijayawada, India's second most heat-stressed city, where temperatures exceed 30°C throughout the year. In Indian cities, limited open spaces force daily and recreational activities onto streets, which serve as vital social and economic hubs, raising concerns about thermal comfort. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the influence of urban form on the perception of outdoor thermal comfort in Vijayawada—a tier-II city with LCZ3 as the dominant local climate Zone. A commercial and residential neighborhood in LCZ3 were chosen for the study and compared with a park in LCZB, to infer if calm environments were comfortable than noisy urban areas. Onsite measurements were taken with a portable weather station, and a questionnaire survey assessed the impact of urban form and acoustics on the TSV and TCV across different age groups and genders. A total of 180 responses were analyzed. The study revealed that noise had a greater impact on user satisfaction than aesthetics; individuals above 50 years were very sensitive to thermal variations. Parks significantly improved the comfort perceptions, especially for frequent users. Residents who stayed in the ground floor were more satisfied with thermal conditions than others. Acclimatization was significant in the residential neighborhood when compared to the commercial users. The findings of the study reveal that residential neighbourhoods had a wide adaptive range when compared to commercial neighborhoods.

How to cite: Basheer, W., Amirtham, L. R., Fulwani, K., and Selvam, D. M.: Impact of Compact Low-Rise Development and Subjective Perception on Outdoor Thermal Comfort in Vijayawada, 12th International Conference on Urban Climate, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 7–11 Jul 2025, ICUC12-922, https://doi.org/10.5194/icuc12-922, 2025.