How Cities Create Extreme Rains?

Abstract:

Cities have been witnessing unprecedented rate of growth and concurrent increase in hazards associated with heat and particularly floods. A growing series of studies provide convincing evidence that cities have a role in exacerbating the climatic extremes related to heat and heavy rains. While the impact of urban infrastructure on the heat is relatively well understood and mitigative measures are also being developed, the understanding regarding the impact on rain is only recently starting to evolve into a common understanding. From a lay person perspective, how cities which are relatively small concrete foot prints of few 10s of km at the surface, affect strong thunderstorms which are often several km above the surface and can stretch order of 100s of km is baffling. This development of mental conception as to how cities affect extreme rains is important because it will then allow for development of integrated solutions that involve cities and the community to work together - as they are now able to do so for managing heat.

This presentation will provide an overview of the current understanding as to how cities affect extreme rains, and also provide a perspective on the need for ongoing and future research to help develop our understanding further. The talk will also review the transformative convergence that is required in translating this understanding as a science to a practical engineering and societal solutions space.

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