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Urban adaptation in Europe

Publication Created 05 Aug 2020 Published 09 Oct 2020
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EEA assessment report presenting the status quo of adaptation to climate change at the local government level, with particular focus on cities. The assessment presents the overview of climate risks to cities, types of adaptation responses, extent of adaptation planning and actions at the loal level in Europe and opportunities to scale up and speed up implementation of adaptation to climate change at the local level.
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Publication Created 05 Aug 2020 Published 09 Oct 2020
EEA Report No 12/2020
EEA assessment report presenting the status quo of adaptation to climate change at the local government level, with particular focus on cities. The assessment presents the overview of climate risks to cities, types of adaptation responses, extent of adaptation planning and actions at the loal level in Europe and opportunities to scale up and speed up implementation of adaptation to climate change at the local level.

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Climatic suitability index values for 𝘈𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘴 (90th percentile) in 2008-2009 for 100 European cities The climatic suitability is an index ranging from 0 to 100. The P90 indicator of the climatic suitability is the 90th percentile value of the index range modelled across the city. The modelling is based on 100m resolution hourly temperature data (based on simulations with the urban climate model UrbClim). From this dataset, the climate suitability has been generated based on annual precipitation and the average temperature in January and during the summer months for the years 2008-2009. The selection of cities comes from the source data. For specific values for individual cities, see the Urban Adaptation Map Viewer.
Climate risk typology of NUTS3 regions in Europe The map shows the climate risk typology developed In the EU-funded H2020 project RESIN. The NUTS3 regions have been categorised into 8 groups according to the main climate hazards, exposure of population and infrastructure, sensitivity of the population and adaptive capacity of the areas.
Location of hospitals in relation to urban heat island intensity in Prague, Czechia The map shows the location of hospitals in relation to urban heat island in Prague
Climatic suitability of 100 urban areas across Europe for tiger mosquito (90th percentile) The selection of cities comes from the source data. The P90 (90th percentile) indicator of the climatic suitability of the urban area for tiger mosquito represents the specific exposure of single cities and is independent of the model domain or size of a city. Since it is the 90th percentile, there are grid cells (areas) in a city with an even higher suitability value, so it can be considered a rather conservative value. For specific values for individual cities, see the Urban Adaptation Map Viewer.
European cities participating in EU-funded framework programme research, knowledge exchange and implementation projects on adaptation The maps show the spatial distribution of the European cities participating by the EU-funded research, implementation and knowledge exchange projects.
Spatial distribution of local authorities committed to adaptation and disaster risk reduction through international initiatives across Europe The map shows the number of local authorities per country that are signatories to the Covenant of Mayors (left map) or participate in the 'Making cities resilient' campaign by UNDRR (right map).
The national surface runoff risk map in Switzerland The map shows which regions of Switzerland are at risk from surface runoff and how deep they may be under water, as well as the anticipated flood paths of the water.
The maximum WBGT [°C] during a hot summer day in the Antwerp city centre The map shows the maximum WBGT values; those exceeding 25 °C indicate heat stress. Locations with trees and/or water surfaces are the coolest, whereas the highest heat stress values are found over paved squares and streets where there is no shading.
Places where respondents feel bad due to excessive heat, 2018 This map shows the places where respondents feel bad due to excessive heat in Prage in 2018.
Average climate suitability map for the tiger mosquito for the city of Ljubljana based on climate data for 2008-2009 Average climate suitability map for the tiger mosquito for the city of Ljubljana (Slovenia) based on climate data for the years 2008-2009
Water Exploitation Index+ 2015 and water consumption per capita (m3/year) The water exploitation index plus (WEI+) aims to illustrate pressure on renewable water resources of a defined territory (river basin, sub-basin etc.) in a given period (e.g. seasonal, annual) as a consequence of water use for human activities. Values above 20 % indicate that water resources are under stress, and above 40 % indicate severe stress and a clearly unsustainable use of freshwater resources (Raskin et al., 1997). see https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/use-of-freshwater-resources-2/assessment-3
Vulnerability of 571 European cities to climate- and weather-related hazards The map shows the vulnerability of European cities (selected) to climate hazards: heatwaves, droughts and floods
Change factor of maximum drought in 571 European cities between 1951-2000 and 2051-2100 The map presents the projected change in drought magnitude in the second half of the 21st century compared to the hisorical period (1951-2000).
Changes in the 10-year high river flow for European cities with large river basins (ratio between 2051-2100 and 1951-2000 flows) The map shows the changes in the 10-year high river flow for European cities with large river basins for the ratio between projected future (2051-2100) and historical flows (1951-2000).
Change in the percentage of summer (May-September) days classified as heatwave days between the historical period (1951–2000) and the future period (2051–2100) in 571 European cities. The map presents the projected change in days classificed in heatwave days
Surface area of publicly accessible green space per inhabitant in core cities The map shows surface area of publicly accessible green space per inhabitant in core cities
The average summer season intensity of urban heat island (°C) and the projected number of extreme heatwaves in near future (2020-2052; RCP8.5) The map presents the projected number of exreme heatwaves in the near future across Europe and the summer intensity of the urban heat island effect in 100 European cities.
Key observed and projected climate change and impacts for the main regions in Europe The map shows the observed and projected climate change and impacts for the main biogeographical regions in Europe

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For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/urban-adaptation-in-europe or scan the QR code.

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