Resilience Scanner

Integrated Metropolitan Meteorological Monitoring Network

Solution Overview

The Lisbon Metropolitan Area established an integrated meteorological monitoring network in early 2022, consisting of 18 weather stations distributed across each of its 18 municipalities.[2] This infrastructure supports the CLIMA.AML project, which developed a network of meteorological sensors and a digital information platform to support and promote adaptation to climate change throughout the metropolitan region.[3] The system enables continuous monitoring of weather patterns and their impact on communities while providing technical and scientific knowledge to support decision-making and increase the resilience and response capacity of the metropolitan territory to climate change impacts.[1][7]

Technical Components

The monitoring infrastructure comprises 18 urban meteorological stations positioned strategically across the municipalities of Almada, Alcochete, Amadora, Barreiro, Cascais, Lisbon, Loures, Oeiras, Odivelas, Palmela, Mafra, Moita, Montijo, Seixal, Sintra, Sesimbra, Setúbal and Vila Franca de Xira.[6] The implementation includes nine urban measurement micro-sensors designed to study urban heat island effects in eight green spaces of the region.[4][5] A freely accessible online platform analyzes all essential data and information to support the monitoring and evaluation of meteorological data, creating continuous monitoring of weather patterns and their impact on communities.[5][7] The platform was recently presented at the Pedra do Sal Environmental Interpretation Center in São Pedro do Estoril, allowing real-time monitoring of meteorological data from all 18 municipalities.[6] The system enables the development of a high spatial resolution model on urban climate variables that facilitates understanding of factors associated with the urban heat island effect.[4]

Implementation Details

The Lisbon Metropolitan Area was selected to implement the project within the scope of the Environment, Climate Change and Low Carbon Economy programme, operated by the Secretary General for the Environment and Climate Action.[8] The initiative operates with a global budget of 193,195.31 Euros, with 85% funded by EEA Grants 2014-2021.[8] Development was scheduled for completion by the end of the first half of 2023.[8] AML, as the project's promoter, established an institutional partnership with Biotext (a Norwegian entity), the Municipalities of Almada and Lisbon, as well as Cascais Ambiente and the Center for Studies and Regional and Urban Development (CEDRU).[8][5] The project received institutional support from the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), the Norwegian Meteorological Institute and the Network of Municipalities for Local Adaptation to Climate Change.[5][8] Institutional cooperation was planned between Portuguese and Norwegian municipalities for sharing good practices and training municipal technicians in the use of the new system, as well as in developing warning thresholds associated with extreme weather.[7] The study is being carried out in partnership between the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and the Center for Ecology, Evolution and Climate Change (cE3c) of the Lisbon University.[4]

Benefits and Impacts

The collection and processing of data collected in 2022 by the 18 urban meteorological monitoring stations allowed drawing a climate picture of 2022 in the Lisbon metropolitan area.[2] The average annual temperature in the metropolitan area in 2022, according to data from the weather stations, was 17.56ºC, 1ºC more than the national average in 2022 (16.6ºC).[2] The maximum temperature recorded was in Alcochete, with 43.33ºC, on July 13.[2] In 2022, the metropolitan area received 681.69 mm of rainfall (average accumulated value) over 100 days, with 265 days recording no precipitation.[2] The municipality of Seixal recorded the highest average daily accumulated rainfall value, with 109.60 mm on December 13, which corresponded to 15% of the total rainfall for the year 2022 in that municipality.[2] The network supports studies focused on potential areas susceptible to the effect of heat and allows the creation of methodologies to mitigate heat waves, replicable in the planning of adaptation to climate change across all 18 municipalities of the metropolitan region.[4] The project produced nine thematic reports, with the eighth report presenting results of social vulnerability analysis to climate change in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area.[1]

Climate Adaptation Relevance

This monitoring network continues the Metropolitan Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, which was publicly presented in December 2019.[6][4] The general objective supports the municipalities of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area in the preparation of Municipal Climate Change Adaptation Plans (PMAAC).[1] The system's capacity to develop high spatial resolution models on urban climate variables and study urban heat island effects directly addresses extreme heat hazards while enabling the development of warning thresholds associated with extreme weather events.[4][7]

Business Analysis

The project was financed through the EEA Grants Environment Programme under the Environment, Climate Change and Low Carbon Economy program, operated by the General Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Action.[1][5] The financial mechanism provided 85% of the 193,195.31 Euro global budget through EEA Grants 2014-2021.[8] Biotext served as donor project partner in the climate change-related project funded through the EEA/Norway Grants programme.[3] The implementation model leveraged institutional partnerships across multiple municipal governments and research institutions to distribute technical capacity and knowledge transfer.[8][5] The freely accessible online platform design ensures broad public access to meteorological data without direct user costs.[7] The project developed activities aimed at capacity building of local actors and promoting inter-municipal cooperation to increase resilience and response capacity of the metropolitan territory.[1]

Sources