Working with European cities
European cities are experiencing increasingly severe heatwaves and rising air pollution, posing major risks to public health and urban liveability. In 2024, record-breaking temperatures affected Europe, prompting cities like London and Milan to introduce emergency measures against dangerous pollution levels.
In response, a new EU-funded initiative, UrbanAIR (Urban simulation for air quality and heat resilience strategies), brings together 18 leading partners from eleven European countries to develop an innovative decision-support tool.
The decision-support tool will integrate neighbourhood and street-level atmospheric models with real-time weather data from five European cities. These cities are going to play a critical role in refining and testing the tools to ensure they are effective across diverse urban contexts.
The initiative is closely collaborating with:
- Antwerp
- Barcelona
- Bristol
- Paris
- Rotterdam
Playing a crucial role
Two groups within Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Scientific Computing play a crucial role in this initiative:
- the Thermo-Fluids Group
- the Data Engineering Group
These groups will use STFC’s Data & Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure (DAFNI) platform to plan the framework for ‘digital twins’ of the participating cities. This will enable the creation of both climate and human behaviour simulation models that will feed into the EU’s ambitious Destination Earth platform.
STFC Scientific Computing will provide the design parameters and data standards to enable partners to integrate their research into the digital twin.
Supporting city planners
By incorporating climate data and human behaviour insights through computational modelling, UrbanAIR aims to transform urban planning and design processes for major cities across Europe.
UrbanAIR will enable city planners to test what would happen if they took measures to reduce heat and air pollution in specific areas. By gaining these insights, city planners and policymakers can make informed decisions about the investments they should make to minimise the impacts of climate change.
Excellence in advanced computing
Tom Griffin, Director of STFC Scientific Computing, says:
At STFC Scientific Computing, we are contributing to several international projects, demonstrating our standing as a centre of excellence in advanced computing.
By integrating our skills, computing expertise and digital infrastructure into cutting-edge projects like UrbanAIR, we can aim to make a real impact to urban environments by making our cities more resilient to severe weather.
Further information
A Europe-wide alliance for urban climate solutions
Aligned with the European Green Deal and the EU Mission for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, UrbanAIR will help cities identify the optimal cooling strategies, predict and manage air pollution and support sustainable urban development.
Over the next four years, UrbanAIR will unite top experts from research, industry, and government, coordinated by Delft University of Technology. Renowned centres such as:
- NORCE
- VITO
- Centre Européen de Recherche et de Formation Avancée en Calcul Scientifique (Cerfacs)
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center
Along with meteorological institutes like KNMI (Netherlands), METEO France and SMHI (Sweden), will work closely with:
- Arup
- Technical University Ilmenau
- Leibniz University Hannover
- Imperial College London
- Université Toulouse III
- University of Freiburg
- Bern University of Applied Sciences
Additionally, STFC will develop the decision-support tool interface, while Resilient Cities Network will ensure public participation in the tool’s development. Future Needs will lead outreach and awareness efforts and contribute to user interface and user experience research expertise.
From research to real-world impact
UrbanAIR is scaling up climate modelling by leveraging Destination Earth, a global digital twin of the planet, and applying it to street-level meteorological models. Unlike traditional climate models, this tool will deliver localised, real-time insights, empowering cities to make targeted and effective decisions to combat extreme heat and pollution.
Ultimately, UrbanAIR aims to improve urban planning and design, develop solutions for climate adaptation, and support robust hazard response in cities.
This €14.3 million, four-year project is funded under HORIZON-INFRA-2024-TECH-01-03: New digital twins for Destination Earth funding opportunity, directly supporting European policies on climate adaptation, urban sustainability, and public health. UrbanAIR launched on 1 January 2025, with a kick-off meeting held on 3 to 4 February 2025.