Research on Urban Impacts on PBL Climate and Weather: A 50 Year Perspective (Invited Presentation)

Research into our understanding of urban impacts on PBL climate and weather has greatly matured as a science over the last half century, and this paper presents a personal perspective of the progress in sub-areas such as urban observations, analyses, modeling, and end-user applications (such as for energy, air quality, water supply, health, climate change, and emergency response planning efforts) for the improvement of lives globally.  While the focus is on the author’s own experiences in these areas, it also includes select examples from other research efforts around the world.  The review finishes with an optimistic evaluation of the likely continued progress in our understandings of urban impacts on urban climate and weather, as they relate to changing global and regional climates.