International Association for Urban Climate

Issue 77, September 2020

The latest issue of “Urban Climate News” (Issue 77, September 2020) is now available. In a special section, the membership consultation on ICUC-11 and its postponement to 2022 are summarized. It features the 2020 Luke Howard Award and Timothy Oke Award Winners. The issue further contains a news report on racist housing policies that created oppressively hot neighborhoods in the US and two research reports on turbulent exchange processes in urban canopies and bird species diversity on and around large-scale green buildings.

Issue 76, June 2020

The latest issue of “Urban Climate News” (Issue 76, June 2020) is now available. It features news on the challenges of urban heat under COVID-19, a research contribution on the magnitude and seasonality of global surface urban heat islands, a report on a “mapathon” to identify LCZs in African cities and a tribute to remembering Baruch Givoni (1920-2019).

Professor Baruch Givoni

The Board of the IAUC is saddened to announce the passing of Professor Emeritus Baruch Givoni, on the eve of his 100th birthday. Prof. Givoni was a pioneer in the understanding of urban and building climatology, and his prolific work over many decades included the landmark book “Man, Climate and Architecture” as well as the highly influential WMO publication “Urban Design In Different Climates“. Beyond the respect and admiration that he enjoyed around the world, Baruch was beloved by those who knew him as a modest and unassuming person. His generosity of spirit, his curiosity and his active pursuit of knowledge endured until his final days.

Issue 75, March 2020

The latest issue of “Urban Climate News” (Issue 75, March 2020) is now available. It features first (urban) climate impacts of the unprecedented lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also announces the new Timothy Oke Award, a IAUC research excellence award for early- to mid-career scientists in our field. On the research section the issue features a contribution on the UHI in Beijing and how it is impacted by population migration as well as a call for participation in a new multi-site evaluation project for modelling urban areas.

Issue 74, December 2019

The latest issue of “Urban Climate News” (Issue 74, December 2019) is now available. It features how teenager Greta Thunberg managed to get the world’s attention on climate action – what researchers and activists have struggled for decades. News on the dramatic urban air quality caused by massive bushfires in Australian cities and the relevance of history in contemporary heat island research are included. Further the newsletter reports on the modeling of the distribution of urban cold-air paths.

Issue 73, September 2019

The latest issue of “Urban Climate News” (Issue 73, September 2019) is now available. It features a review of indoor thermal comfort in the tropics, a project report on sunshine changes in Eastern Chinese cities, and reports from the IAUC supported 2019 Urban Climate summer school in Bucharest, Romania.

Issue 72, June 2019

The latest issue of “Urban Climate News” (Issue 72, June 2019) is available. It features research insights such as “effects of micro-scale self-shading on wall surface temperatures”, reports about the recent heatwave in Europe, and presents efforts to create an outdoor thermal comfort database.

The next International Conference on Urban Climate (ICUC-11) will take place in Sydney, Australia from August 30 to September 3, 2021. The Board of the International Association for Urban Climate (IAUC) selected the team in Sydney with its proposal “Cities as Living Labs: Climate, Vulnerability, and Multidisciplinary Solutions“ on April 4, 2019. The Board’s decision follows the results of a membership consultation in March. In the membership consultation, a strong preference for Sydd ney emerged. From a total of 240 voters, 64% ranked Sydney their first choice, followed by 19% that ranked “Hong Kong” first and 17% that ranked “Beijing” first.

The University of New South Wales (UNSW) who will host ICUC-11 has also received support from the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Board on the Urban Environment (BUE) to run ICUC-11 together with the Symposium on the Urban Environment (AMS-BUE). UNSW will collaborate with other Australian Universities and Research Institutes in hosting this conference.

The next International Conference on Urban Climate (ICUC-11) will take place in Sydney, Australia between August 30 and September 3, 2021.

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All active IAUC members have received a personal link per email to a survey where they can indicate their preferences about the location and timing of the next International Conference on Urban Climate (ICUC-11) in 2021 / 2022.

The following three candidate packages to host ICUC-11 in Beijing, Hong Kong and Sydney were selected by the board based on financial viability, logistical feasibility, cultural diversity and the local organizing team and are now forwarded to the membership community in the consultation process:

The IAUC board thanks the candidate teams for preparing proposals to host ICUC-11. We thank everyone for participating in the survey and sharing their preferences and vote. The survey closes Monday, March 25, 23:59 CET.