Are the characteristics of urban climates similar across the world or do they vary by location?
A city’s climate, and its effects on climate, is influenced by its geographical setting. Latitude has an influence through basic solar forcing (the amount of energy received from the sun); continentality influences seasonal extremes; and the sequence of expected fronts and pressure systems etc affect the range of meteorological conditions a city experiences. These all influence the design of a city (e.g. building styles) and behaviours and activities of inhabitants (demands for heating and cooling etc) and thus the specific urban climates that result. Thus urban climates vary from place to place as the factors that cause them – building materials, morphology of the surface, emissions by humans – also vary. In high latitudes the direct emission of heat by humans (to keep buildings warm) tend to be greatest. In fact this source of energy may exceed that naturally coming from the sun. Under these conditions urban heat islands tend to be very well developed. In arid environments, cities su
