The current bioclimatic situation in the Minett UNESCO Biosphere will be recorded until the end of 2024. The data collected will then be used to provide cities and towns in the South with tools to help them better prepare for the foreseeable consequences of climate change.

CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL

It is scientific consensus that man-made climate change will have consequences on our daily lives. In Luxembourg, the average temperature (period 1991-2020) was already 1.5 degrees above the average temperature of the reference period 1951-1980. There is also unanimity among climatologists that as a result of rising air temperatures, extreme weather events (heavy rain, storms, heat waves) will occur more frequently.

© Meteolux

© IPCC

Climate change is a major challenge, especially for urban areas, including the Minett UNESCO Biosphere. Often densely populated, these areas are vulnerable to climate change impacts such as air pollution, extreme weather events, and heat waves. Cities are also major contributors to climate change, accounting for about 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The ClimProSud project aims to assess the urban bioclimate on the territory of the Minett UNESCO Biosphere, improving our understanding of the impact of urbanization on local climate and the consequences for human health, the natural environment and urban infrastructure.

UNDERSTANDING LOCAL CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS

The goal of the ClimProSud project is to provide urban climate information at a spatial and temporal scale, relevant to impacts, for the territory of the eleven municipalities of the Minett UNESCO Biosphere. Cities play a critical role in addressing climate change and its impacts. Actions, particularly in urban planning, can have significant impacts on global greenhouse gas emissions and on the resilience of urban communities.

LIST researchers, together with their scientific collaboration partner Geo-Net of Hannover, will provide urban planning information with a spatial resolution of 5 m for our region. Based on numerical regional climate projections, future climate conditions of the south of Luxembourg will be included in this study.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The urban bioclimate assessment will address a broad range of impacts on urban areas and municipalities in southern Luxembourg, including:

Improved urban planning and design:

Project results will be made available to urban planners. This will enable them to design more sustainable and resilient future development of urban areas. This includes urban green and blue infrastructure areas and the assessment of cold air production areas and cold air corridors for better urban ventilation. High low temperatures during the summer months are a major health hazard and can lead to excess mortality in urban areas during heat waves.

Improved resilience to climate change:

The ClimProSud project will identify areas in the municipalities that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. These are flooding, extreme heat, or air pollution. The study will help develop strategies to improve resilience and reduce risks.

Health benefits:

By identifying areas of high thermal stress, this urban bioclimate analysis will provide a basis to implement policies aimed at improving public health. The residents of the Minett UNESCO Biosphere can, through urban planning measures, be better protected from the negative impacts of urban environmental conditions in the future.

Economic benefits:

By adapting urban planning when developing new neighborhoods or (re)designing existing parts of our cities and villages, economic benefits can be generated for our region. These benefits may include increased property values, improved air quality, or a reduced demand for energy.

Overall, the ClimProSud project is designed to enable the municipalities in the Minett UNESCO Biosphere territory to better understand, assess, manage, and anticipate the challenges of climate change. This knowledge can be used in the coming years and decades to develop our eleven municipalities in a more sustainable, resilient and healthy way. The collection of data needed to create this analysis of our region’s bioclimate has begun and will continue for 18 months to provide the most accurate picture of the current situation, which will be used as the basis for the project’s climate projections.