The impact of volcanic gases from Miyake island on the chemical constituents in precipitation in the Tokyo metropolitan area

Using a high-resolution regional climate model coupled with urban canopy model, the present study provides the first attempt in quantifying the impact of metropolitan-scale urban planning scenarios on moist thermal environment under global warming. Tokyo metropolitan area is selected as a test case. Three urban planning scenarios are considered: status quo, dispersed city, and compact city. Their impact on the moist thermal environment is assessed using wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT). Future projections for the 2070s show a 2–4°C increase in daytime mean WBGT relative to the current climate. The urban scenario impacts are shown to be small, with a −0.4 to +0.4°C range. Relative changes in temperature and humidity as the result of a given urban scenario are shown to be critical in determining the sign of the WBGT changes; however, such changes are not necessarily determined by local changes in urban land surface parameters. These findings indicate that urban land surface changes may improve or worsen the local moist thermal environment and that metropolitan-scale urban planning is inefficient in mitigating heat-related health risks for mature cities like Tokyo.

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Special Issue on the Tokyo Metropolitan Resilience Project

Journal of Disaster Research ◽

10.20965/jdr.2021.p0675 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 675-675

Author(s):

Naoshi Hirata

Keyword(s):

Metropolitan Area ◽

Cost Estimation ◽

Clear Understanding ◽

Social Resilience ◽

Special Issue ◽

Tokyo Metropolitan ◽

Tokyo Metropolitan Area ◽

Training Tool ◽

Hazard And Risk ◽

The Impact

Natural hazards continue to be an increasing challenge to societies around the world, with many societies being impacted by multiple types of hazard events. To reduce the impact of these hazards, we must not only quantify the hazard and risk associated with multi-hazard events but also understand the uncertainty associated with these events. Resilience can only be improved by considering all these factors. Multi-hazard and risk-modeling approaches are receiving increasing attention globally; however, the challenges of assessing uncertainty in both single- and multi-hazard risks are considerable. Without a clear understanding of the risks and their uncertainties, measures to mitigate these risks and to increase resilience face difficult decisions. In the present Special Issue, we have five papers and one report on the Tokyo Metropolitan Resilience Project: Interdisciplinary and Industry-Academia Collaboration Research for Enhancing Social Resilience to Natural Disasters in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area –DEKATSU Activity–, Multi-Data Integration System to Capture Detailed Strong Ground Motion in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, Development of the Training Tool “KUG” for Temporary Lodging Facilities and Companies for Stranded Commuters, Development of Matching Modeling for Human Resource Allocation of Shelter Management by the Set Theory, Time-Cost Estimation for Early Disaster Damage Assessment Methods, Depending on Affected Area, and A Report of the Questionnaire Survey on Awareness of COVID-19 and Shelters.

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