In the mid-20th century, only about one in three people lived in a city. According to projections, more than two-thirds of the world’s population will inhabit urban areas by 2050 (United Nations 2018). This process of urbanisation comes at a cost: the more people live in cities, the greater the demand for housing. Through construction, transportation, and heating, we negatively impact the urban climate.
To address these effects in planning, the Climate Model Berlin provides essential data and assessments as part of its analysis results. Climate parameters, such as near-ground wind fields and air temperature, were analysed at a high spatial resolution of 10 × 10 metres across the entire urban area. This offers not only a current snapshot of the urban climate but also a level of detail precise enough to support planning projects down to the scale of legally binding land-use plans.
In addition to the core climatic variables, such as air and surface temperature, wind fields, and near-ground airflow, the model also includes the thermal evaluation indices PET and UTCI. The data is available in both grid-based and area-based formats, with the latter covering approximately 25,000 block (segment) areas and around 32,000 road areas. A climate analysis map summarising the results enables the differentiation of urban areas based on their various climatic functions, i.e. their influence on other parts of the city.