Climate change in urban areas, Part 1, Effects

摘要

The objective of this article, which is being published in two parts, is to investigate the effects of global climate change on a conurbation (the Ruhr area) and to discuss local counter-measures. Part 1 deals with the origins of the natural and anthropogenic greenhouse effects, presents the contributions of the two effects to global warming and discusses recent examples of climate development from the Ruhr metropolis. The climate changes projected by various numeric and statistical models include an increase in thermal stress for city-dwellers and a rise in convective precipitation with corresponding run-off peaks in summer. As regard air pollutants (e.g. O3, PM10), it will mainly be the concentration of the near-surface trace gas ozone which will be clearly increased with rising temperatures. In contrast, a close correlation between atmospheric fine dust concentrations (≤ PM10) and temperature changes has not yet been established. Part 2 of the publication indicates how global climate change can be effectively combated at the local level using a number of application-oriented examples. These include measures affecting both individual properties and whole areas with a view to reducing urban overheating and CO2 emissions.