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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

The features that make cities unique are important to understanding how cities affect weather and disperse air pollutants, researchers highlight in a new study [phys.org].

Compared to their surroundings, cities can be hot – hot enough to influence the weather. Industrial, domestic, and transportation-related activities constantly release heat, and after a warm day, concrete surfaces radiate stored heat long into the night. These phenomena can be strong enough to drive thunderstorms off course. But it isn't only about the heat cities release; it's also about their spatial layout. By channeling winds and generating turbulence hundreds of meters into the atmosphere, the presence and organization of buildings also affect weather and air quality.

In an EPFL-led study published in the Journal of Boundary Layer Meteorology, researchers have shown that the way cities are represented in today's weather and air quality models fails to capture the true magnitude of some important features, such as the transfer of energy and heat in the lower atmosphere. What's more, they found that processes that atmospheric sensors are unable to sense are essential to more accurately represent cities in weather models.

Termites shape their mounds to control their local climate [phys.org], so why shouldn't humans do the same?

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