![]() ![]() This non-trivial phenomenon, known as emergence, characterizes a broad range of distinct complex systems-from physical to biological and social-and is often related to collective behaviour. The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute developed four climate scenarios that provide guidelines for calculating the consequences of climate change and develop options and strategies for climate adaptation.When a large number of similar entities interact among each other and with their environment at a low scale, unexpected outcomes at higher spatio-temporal scales might spontaneously arise. ![]() In to map heat differences within the city, the observations of 24 weather stations located in the city have been added to the analysis. Also, in the evening it remained 3.4 degrees warmer in the city than the countryside. The results of the measurements showed that in the evening the heat of the city impacted temperatures up to a height of 120 meters (about 50 stories high). In order to map the difference between city and countryside, measurements were also made in a rural area 22km outside of Amsterdam. The aim was to find the cross-over point, the altitude in the atmosphere where the city's heat is no longer noticeable, and the temperature is equal to the temperature of the rural area. The intensity of the urban heat effect strongly depends on the density and height of the buildings and on the amount of green spaces present.ĭuring last July's heatwave, researchers from Wageningen University & Research and Amsterdam Institute for Metropolitan Solutions (AMS Institute) launched weather balloons from Dam Square to map the height of the urban dome. The effect is strongest at night during calm, clear weather. The temperature difference with areas outside the city can sometimes exceed more than five degrees. This means that heat generated by people, vehicles and the sun is easily trapped by the materials used to build houses, industrial buildings, sidewalks, and parking lots. In densely populated areas such as Amsterdam, heat waves are more extreme, as a result of the so-called 'urban heat island effect'. According to the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), the kind of heat waves we saw last year, will become more frequent: from once every twenty years a century ago, to every two to three years now.ĭue to increasing urbanisation the number of people having to deal with the consequences of increasing heat is also growing. The extreme temperatures not only affected the environment, but also human health and well-being, especially of elderly people and young children. For Amsterdam, as for many other cities, this resulted in a higher energy consumption, declined water quality, malfunctioning bridges, dying plants and grass, subsiding housing foundations and cracked cycle paths and roads. The summer of 2018 was extremely hot and dry, and also in the summer of 2019 we experienced two big heat waves in the Netherlands. The full read of the Climate Adaptation Strategy of the Municipality of Amsterdam can be downloaded here (download only available in Dutch). ![]()
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