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ABSTRACT: This paper demonstrates an early application of local climate zones (LCZs) in the city
of Bogotá, Colombia. The main goal was to assess the thermal properties within the areas of influ-
ence (sectors) of 10 meteorological stations in the city, classified into the LCZ scheme. Air temper-
ature observations at 07:00, 13:00 and 19:00 h (T7:00, T13:00 and T19:00) and daily measurements were
obtained from the stations, and the maximum (Tmax), minimum (Tmin) and mean (Tmean) values were
calculated. Their distribution and variation were analyzed, thermal sensation categories were cal-
culated, and the thermal differences (ΔTLCZX-LCZD) between open-compact LCZ types and LCZD
(typical rural type with low plants) were obtained in order to identify patterns between the sta-
tions and their assigned LCZs. Furthermore, we compared urban morphology (form) parameters
to the ranges proposed in the literature to classify LCZs. The results clearly showed variations and
patterns between the stations and their assigned LCZs when using Tmin, T7:00 and T19:00 air temper-
ature data and the indices and categories calculated from these. Values of ΔTLCZX-LCZD > 5°C were
found in the densely urbanised LCZ at night, and some negative values at noon suggested the
presence of an urban cool island. The results show the usefulness of LCZs in understanding dif-
ferences and temperature variations between divergent urban sectors. However, when different
LCZ types are grouped, the thermal differences between them can be better appreciated and
explained. The main conclusion is that the urban surface of Bogotá does not generate high tem-
peratures, but decreases the occurrences of low values in Tmin, Tmean, T19:00 and T7:00.
KEY WORDS: Local climate zones · Air temperature · Thermal differences · Urban cool island ·
Temperature-based indices · Urban form
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store heat in the urban surface that is then released Variations in the urban form within a city influence
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at nighttime. At this time, the reduction in the visi- its air temperature distribution (Oke 1982, Unger
ble sky area and deep urban canyons affect the loss 2004, Fenner et al. 2014). To standardise this urban
of longwave radiation emitted by urban surfaces to diversity, Stewart & Oke (2012) proposed local cli-
the sky because of the obstruction generated by mate zones (LCZs), which are divided into 10 built-
the buildings, thus producing an increase in sensible up and 7 land cover types defined according to a set
heat convection. The influence of urban morphol- of urban form, thermal and metabolic parameters
ogy (i.e. the urban form) in increasing ΔTu−r is well (Table 1). One advantage offered by LCZs is the
known. redefinition of ΔTu−r through differences between
The cooling effect of green areas during the day pairs of LCZs (ΔTLCZX-LCZY) (Leconte et al. 2015,
is well documented, as vegetation can increase the Martilli et al. 2020). LCZs can explain the variations
evapotranspiration process and help regulate the in near-surface air temperature more clearly than
surface temperature by increasing latent heat (Oke simply comparing urban–rural differences as there are
1982, Whitford et al. 2001, Wong & Yu 2005, Coseo contrasts and a hierarchy as a function of ΔTLCZX-LCZY
& Larsen 2014, Perini & Magliocco 2014, Oke et al. between LCZs (Stewart & Oke 2010, Stewart et al.
2017). In a similar manner, regional wind patterns 2014, Lehnert et al. 2018, Yang et al. 2018). This was
are modified when they flow around the rough sur- demonstrated by Alexander & Mills (2014), Fenner et
faces generated by the structural forms of buildings al. (2017), Skarbit et al. (2017) and Beck et al.(2018),
and street networks, not only affecting the wind who found that mean air temperature (Tmean) and Tmin
profiles inside the city, but also the intensity of tur- decrease in LCZs that are less compact and lower in
bulence and wind speed that determines the for- height, in Szeged, Berlin, Dublin and Augsburg,
mation of local climates inside city neighbourhoods respectively. Moreover, Leconte et al. (2015) identi-
by the heat exchanges described above (Grimmond fied the same thermal patterns in Nancy by compar-
& Oke 1999, Arnfield 2003, Ng et al. 2011, Oke et ing the thermal amplitude of different LCZs. In gen-
al. 2017). eral, high ΔTLCZX-LCZY values are found at night when
Table 1. Local climate zone (LCZ) types, urban morphology and land cover parameter values that define each LCZ. Source:
Stewart & Oke (2012). Sky view factor: ratio of amount of sky hemisphere visible from ground level to that of an unobstructed
atmosphere; Aspect ratio: mean height to width ratio (H/W) of street canyons (LCZs 1−7), building spacing (LCZs 8−10) and
tree spacing (LCZs A−G); Building surface fraction: ratio of building plan area to total plan area (%); Impervious surface frac-
tion: ratio of impervious plan area (paved, rock) to total plan area (%); Pervious surface fraction: ratio of pervious plan area
(bare soil, vegetation, water) to total plan area (%); Height of roughness elements: geometric average of building heights (BH;
LCZs 1−10) and tree/plant heights (LCZs A−F) (m). (−) Not applicable
Built-up type
1: Compact high-rise 0.2−0.4 >2 40−60 40−60 <10 > 25
2: Compact mid-rise 0.3−0.6 0.75−2 40−70 30−50 < 20 10−25
3: Compact low-rise 0.2−0.6 0.75−1.5 40−70 20−50 < 30 3−10
4: Open high-rise 0.5−0.7 0.75−1.25 20−40 30−40 30−40 > 25
5: Open mid-rise 0.5−0.8 0.3−0.75 20−40 30−50 20−40 10−25
6: Open low-rise 0.6−0.9 0.3−0.75 20−40 20−50 30−60 3−10
7: Lightweight LCZ 0.2−0.5 1−2 60−90 < 20 < 30 2−4
8: Large low-rise > 0.7 0.1−0.3 30−50 40−50 < 20 3−10
9: Sparsely built > 0.8 0.1−0.25 10−20 < 20 60−80 3−10
10: Heavy industry 0.6−0.9 0.2−0.5 20−30 20−40 40−50 5−15
Land cover
A: Dense trees < 0.4 >1 <10 <10 > 90 3−30
B: Scattered trees 0.5−0.8 0.25−0.75 <10 <10 > 90 3−15
C: Bush, scrub 0.7−0.9 0.25−1.0 <10 <10 > 90 <2
D: Low plants > 0.9 < 0.1 <10 <10 > 90 <1
E: Bare rock or paved > 0.9 < 0.1 <10 > 90 <10 < 0.25
F: Bare soil or sand > 0.9 < 0.1 <10 <10 > 90 < 0.25
G: Water > 0.9 < 0.1 <10 <10 > 90 −
Ramírez-Aguilar & Souza: Thermal properties in Bogotá, Colombia 17
compact LCZs are compared with open LCZs and limited number of scholarly works on this topic, es-
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with LCZD, which describes a typical rural environ- pecially with regard to the urban climate of Bogotá
ment (Emmanuel & Krüger 2012, Kotharkar & Bagade (Tercera Comunicación Nacional de Cambio Climático
2018, Yang et al. 2018). 2016, Sarricolea & Meseguer-Ruiz 2019).
Another way to explain thermal variations and pat-
terns between LCZs is by using temperature-based
indices which reflect energy demands (heating and 2. DATA AND METHODS
cooling necessities) and frequencies of different
phenomena (hot and cold events) using air tempera- 2.1. Study city and air temperature data
ture data classified according to a threshold value
(Matzarakis & Thomsen 2009, Kolokotroni et al. Our study area is Bogotá (Fig. 1), the capital city of
2010). Emmanuel & Krüger (2012) and Yang et al. Colombia, which can be classified as a having a
(2018) reported that days when Tmean is >14°C, so- high-altitude tropical climate (Roth 2007) given its
called ‘heating days’, decreased with urbanisation mean altitude of 2625 m above sea level (a.s.l.). This
intensity from open to compact LCZs, with consider- altitude and its proximity to the equator (4° 35’ N,
able declines recorded in Dublin city centre and in 74° 04’ W) create uniform temperatures throughout
LCZ2 in Nanjing, respectively. Likewise, Skarbit et the year (mean: 14°C; minimum: 4°C; maximum:
al. (2017) found an increase in ‘heating days’ from 25°C) and a low annual thermal amplitude (< 2°C),
highly urbanised LCZs in Szeged to rural areas which is also caused by the bimodal season system
(LCZD), but the greatest difference was found with and its 2 rainy seasons (April to June and August to
‘cooling days’ (Tmean > 18.3°C), showing a 40% in- November) (Eidt 1969, Jauregui 1986, Gaitan et al.
crease in LCZ3 (compact) compared with LCZ8 2007). Bogotá has a population of 9 500 000 inhabi-
(open). The authors also determined other indices in tants who live in an urban area of 385.50 km2, result-
Szeged using Tmax and Tmin data. For example, for ing in a very high population density of 24 643
‘frost days’, defined as days where Tmin < 0°C, they inhabitants km−2 (Wheeler 2015).
found an increasing pattern from compact LCZs to Ten meteorological stations, comprising 1 rural sta-
open LCZs. In contrast, ‘tropical nights’, i.e. nights tion (Tr) located in an agricultural area near the city,
with Tmin > 0°C, increased with the density of the 3 suburban stations placed in low population areas
urban environment (LCZ2 and 3). (including the airport, industrialized areas and edu-
The aim of the current study was to evaluate the cational institutions) and 6 urban stations located in
thermal properties, variations and differences be- high-density and urbanised sectors (Table 2, Fig. 1b),
tween different urban sectors of Bogotá, Colombia, were used to extract daily maximum (Tmax) and mini-
and their assigned LCZs. Our specific objectives were mum (Tmin) temperature data for a period of 365 d
to: (1) describe the thermal changes using different air (2009). Additionally, daily Tmean data were also ob-
temperature observations; (2) calculate and analyse tained from the averages of Tmax and Tmin (Eq. 1):
the UHI intensity according to the LCZs; and (3) cal-
Tmax + Tmin
culate and examine patterns in temperature-based in- Tmean = (1)
dices and thermal sensation categories. To meet these 2
objectives, we obtained daily maximum, minimum Hourly temperature data were acquired in the same
and mean values, along with specific hourly data for a way. Although the stations only provide data for 3
period of 365 d. Furthermore, we assessed the appli- specific hours (07:00, 13:00 and 19:00 h, i.e. T7:00 ,
cability of the LCZ concept in Bogotá by comparing T13:00 and T19:00), the thermal properties of different
the urban form parameter values of each evaluated times of the day (sunrise, noon and sunset) can be
sector with the LCZ ranges as suggested by Stewart & analysed (Table 3). All of the meteorological stations
Oke (2012). To do this, a classifying process was de- belong to the Instituto de Hidrología Meteorología y
vised following suggestions found in the literature Estudios Ambientales (IDEAM) network that pro-
(Gál et al. 2015, R. Wang et al. 2018, Zheng et al. 2018) vides free and accessible data (www.ideam.gov.co/
and using urban form data previously calculated for solicitud-de-informacion). Information about these
Bogotá (Ramírez-Aguilar & Souza 2019). We found stations is provided in Table 2 (IDEAM 2017). Using
that the correlation between the urbanised area of these data, we investigated air temperature varia-
Bogotá and its local climate, expressed by local cli- tions and differences between sectors and their
mate change, is due to the characteristics of its urban LCZs based on UHI intensity (ΔTLCZX-LCZD), which
surface. Moreover, this study will contribute to the was calculated for daily and hourly air temperatures.
18 Clim Res 82: 15–31, 2020
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Fig. 1. (a) Location of study site (Bogotá, Colombia) and (b) locations of meteorological stations (with station codes shown
in bold) and their areas of influence (sectors)
2.2. Urban form data and classification of stations has a radius of 0.3 km, based on the recommenda-
in the LCZs tions of Oke (2004) and the World Meteorological
Organization (2008) for high-density cities such as
Urban land cover and morphology (form) para- Bogotá (Wheeler 2015), and the height of the temp-
meter data were calculated for the area of influence erature sensor (2 m) at each station (Table 2). These
(sector) of each meteorological station. Each sector parameters are summarized and described in Table 4
Ramírez-Aguilar & Souza: Thermal properties in Bogotá, Colombia 19
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Table 2. Characteristics of the meteorological stations in Bogotá used in this study. Height of air temperature sensor is 2 m for
all stations. See Fig. 1 for locations. Source: IDEAM (2017)
TIBAITATA (2120500151) Tr+ Rural (farm) 2543 4° 41’ 29” 74° 12’ 32”
NVA GENERACION AUT (21206600) NGU Suburban (agricultural) 2590 4° 46’ 56” 74° 5’ 40”
C.UNIV.AGROP. UDCA (21206260) AUD Suburban (university) 2570 4° 47’ 55” 74° 2’ 59”
APTO EL DORADO (21206130) AD Suburban (airport) 2546 4° 42’ 20” 74° 9’ 2”
JARDIN BOTANICO (21205710) JB Urban (botanical garden/urban park) 2552 4° 40’ 10” 74° 6’ 10”
COL SANTIAGO PEREZ (21206660) CSP Urban (local school) 2565 4° 34’ 34” 74° 7’ 51”
INEM KENNEDY (21206560) IK Urban (multifamily residences) 2580 4° 39’ 40” 74° 8’ 5”
BILBAO MAXIMO POTI (21206630) BMP Urban (multifamily residences) 2600 4° 45’ 4” 74° 5’ 30”
UNISALLE CENTRO (21206970) UC Urban (multifamily residences) 2700 4° 35’ 42” 74° 4’ 13”
COL H DURAN (21206620) HD Urban (dense neighbourhood) 2562 4° 38’ 5” 74° 10’ 25”
(also see Ramírez-Aguilar & Souza 2019). These building type (high-rise: BH > 21 m; mid-rise: BH =
urban form parameters help determine the LCZ for 10−21 m; low-rise: BH < 10 m) and BSF determines
each sector. The building surface fraction (BSF, %) the building density type of each sector (compact:
and the building height (BH) (Fig. 2, Table 4) were BSF > 40%; open: BSF = 18−40%; sparsely built: BSF
the key parameters which defined the classification < 18%). The LCZ land cover type classification was
process for the LCZ built-up types. These parameters made by observing the visual characteristics of the
have also been used to define these classification land cover in Google Earth satellite imagery of the
types in other studies (Gál et al. 2015, R. Wang et al. sectors (Fig. 2) and based on our local knowledge of
2018, Zheng et al. 2018). Thus, BH identifies the the city. Both approaches help to classify these LCZ
Table 3. Daily maximum (Tmax), minimum (Tmin) and mean (Tmean) air temperature values (°C; 1 yr mean values) along with
hourly air temperature data for 07:00, 13:00 and 19:00 h (T7:00, T13:00 and T19:00) at different meteorological stations in Bogotá
(see Fig. 1 for locations). Tr: rural reference station; (−) no data
Tmax Mean 20.30 21.04 20.18 19.72 20.11 21.59 20.59 20.15 20.09 21.63
Amplitude 7.80 9.60 8.40 7.00 6.80 6.20 9.00 6.80 9.10 7.80
Max 24.20 25.80 24.00 23.10 23.40 24.20 25.20 24.00 24.30 25.20
Min 16.40 16.20 15.60 16.10 16.60 18.00 16.20 17.20 15.20 17.40
Tmin Mean 6.87 7.71 8.23 8.65 9.04 9.70 10.80 10.26 10.20 11.93
Amplitude 12.80 9.60 10.20 10.40 7.80 4.80 7.80 6.80 6.70 7.00
Max 11.60 11.40 12.00 12.60 12.60 11.60 14.20 12.80 12.90 15.20
Min −1.20 1.80 1.80 2.20 4.80 6.80 6.40 6.00 6.20 8.20
Tmean Mean 13.57 14.38 14.19 14.18 14.58 15.72 15.75 15.32 15.15 16.69
Amplitude 5.90 5.80 6.10 5.85 5.40 3.80 5.60 4.00 5.70 5.70
Max 16.00 17.40 16.80 17.15 17.20 17.50 18.70 17.10 17.80 19.10
Min 10.10 11.60 10.70 11.30 11.80 13.70 13.10 13.10 12.10 13.40
T7:00 Mean 9.73 10.76 10.23 10.69 12.94 12.91 13.09 11.64 11.96 13.16
Amplitude 10.10 8.20 9.60 8.0 6.20 4.0 7.40 7.20 6.50 8.30
Max 13.10 13.60 13.80 13.80 16.00 15.00 16.80 15.00 14.90 17.30
Min 3.00 5.40 4.20 5.80 9.80 11.00 9.40 7.80 8.40 9.00
T13:00 Mean 18.79 19.02 18.38 18.04 18.47 20.39 18.07 18.42 18.03 19.24
Amplitude 11.1 10.4 10.8 9.9 8.8 6.4 9.4 11.8 11.4 10.9
Max 24.10 24.60 22.40 22.20 21.80 23.40 22.40 22.80 23.40 25.00
Min 13.00 14.20 11.60 12.30 13.00 17.00 13.00 11.00 12.00 14.10
T19:00 Mean 12.85 13.15 13.48 13.70 15.26 − 15.34 14.32 14.45 14.76
Amplitude 5.40 4.60 6.40 5.60 7.80 − 9.40 6.40 5.50 6.30
Max 15.00 14.80 16.60 16.20 18.20 − 19.80 18.40 16.90 18.40
Min 9.60 10.20 10.20 10.60 10.40 − 10.40 12.00 11.40 12.10
20 Clim Res 82: 15–31, 2020
Fig. 2. Classification and subclassification process of the sectors (see Fig. 1) within the local climate zones (LCZs). BH identifies
the building type and BSF determines the building density type. Special features observed in the satellite and 3D images of
the sectors were considered using LCZ subclasses. LCZ types, urban morphology and land cover parameter values that define
each LCZ are defined in Tables 1 & 2
22 Clim Res 82: 15–31, 2020
Table 5. Number of days of temperature-based indices and thermal sensation categories based on daily air temperature obser-
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vations (Tmax, Tmin and Tmean) for the different meteorological stations (see Fig. 1 for locations) and their local climate zones
(LCZs; see Table 1 for definitions and Fig. 2 for further explanations). Tr: rural reference station; #*: total number of days with
recorded values; #: number of days featured in the index/category
Tmean #* 335 345 308 353 323 45 178 171 359 117
Heating days (HeD < 14°C) # 208 120 129 151 105 2 6 12 38 0
Cooling days (ColD > 18°C) # 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 12
Tmax #* 338 347 338 364 336 55 195 265 360 152
Hot days (HoD > 24°C) # 3 24 5 2 1 9 16 5 16 25
Cool days (CoD < 20°C) # 150 102 161 215 154 7 61 139 180 23
Tmin #* 362 347 327 354 334 53 261 217 361 155
Cold nights (CoN < 10°C) # 329 330 248 260 238 33 83 90 152 15
Temperate nights (TeN > 12°C) # 0 0 0 4 7 0 52 11 19 83
Tmean #* 335 345 308 353 323 45 178 171 359 117
Very cold < 10°C # 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cold = 10−14°C # 208 120 129 151 105 2 6 12 38 0
Pleasant = 14−18°C # 127 225 179 202 218 43 168 159 321 105
Warm = 18−24°C # 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 12
Hot > 24°C # 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Table 6. Number of days of temperature-based indices and thermal sensation categories based on hourly air temperature
observations (T7:00, T13:00 and T19:00) for the different meteorological stations (see Fig. 1 for locations) and their local climate
zones (LCZs, see Table 1 for definitions and Fig. 2 for further explanations). Tr: rural reference station; #*: total number of days
with recorded values; #: number of days featured in the index/category; (−) no data
T7:00 #* 365 348 343 361 306 43 291 354 359 163
Heating days (HeD < 14°C) # 365 348 343 361 256 37 229 347 353 107
Cooling days (ColD > 18°C) # 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
T13:00 #* 365 347 347 364 331 35 300 360 362 145
HeD # 8 0 4 11 4 0 9 4 8 0
ColD # 227 237 198 196 209 30 157 209 175 110
T19:00 #* 365 296 342 362 266 − 283 354 361 150
HeD # 341 246 254 226 61 − 52 149 114 39
ColD # 0 0 0 0 1 − 11 2 0 1
T7:00 #* 365 348 343 361 306 43 291 354 359 163
Very cold < 10°C # 166 98 134 115 3 0 4 45 27 7
Cold = 10−14°C # 199 250 209 246 253 37 225 302 326 100
Pleasant = 14−18°C # 0 0 0 0 50 6 62 7 6 56
Warm = 18−24°C # 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hot > 24°C # 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
T13:00 #* 365 347 347 364 331 35 300 360 362 145
Very cold # 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cold # 8 0 4 11 4 0 9 4 8 0
Pleasant # 130 110 145 157 118 5 134 147 179 35
Warm # 226 233 198 196 209 30 157 209 175 109
Hot # 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
T19:00 #* 365 296 342 362 266 − 283 354 361 150
Very cold # 1 0 0 0 0 − 0 0 0 0
Cold # 340 246 254 226 61 − 52 149 114 39
Pleasant # 24 50 88 136 204 − 220 203 247 110
Warm # 0 0 0 0 1 − 11 2 0 1
Hot # 0 0 0 0 0 − 0 0 0 0
Ramírez-Aguilar & Souza: Thermal properties in Bogotá, Colombia 23
their densely built-up surface (BSF > 45%) and low- more buildings than LCZ9 suggests. In JB (LCZ6B),
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rise buildings. To characterise some university (mid- large urban parks influence final SVF and H/W val-
rise) buildings, UC was sub-classified as LCZ35. ues by generating more open areas. These specific
In some cases, morphological and land cover para- configuration features are recognised by subclassifi-
meter values do not correspond with the ranges pro- cations. However, the LCZ subclassification does not
posed by Stewart & Oke (2012) (Fig. 3). Similar clas- match in most ranges because this classification only
sification difficulties were also found in other cities highlights the presence of key and obvious features
(Leconte et al. 2015, Lehnert et al. 2015, 2018, Geletič (e.g. tall buildings, large parks) that do not have
& Lehnert 2016, C. Wang et al. 2018). Specifically, enough weight in the representative parameter val-
impervious surface fractions (ISF) and PSF values do ues. Lastly, the necessity to separate and explain
not match the ranges at stations classified as LCZ9 urban and non-urban particularities at a local scale
and LCZ5 (Fig. 3b,c). This occurs due to the largest during the LCZ classification process was noted by
number of squares and sidewalks present in these Stewart (2018), who proposed combining LCZs with
sectors; for example, the airport in AD includes large the orographic classification of cities that categorizes
paved areas. For the morphological parameters, urban topography into mountain top, plateau, slope,
aspect ratio (H/W) and the sky view factor (SVF) val- slope terrace, valley, basin and slope base within the
ues do not match the ranges for LCZ3, LCZ5 and city area (Wanner & Ringer 1989). These concepts
LCZ6B stations (Fig. 3e,f). These disagreements with allow us to describe in great detail the spatial fea-
the proposed ranges can be explained by the specific tures and topographies, i.e. geographical features
features of the urban elements. For instance, in AD, that have implications in urban air temperature and
the SVF is significantly low due to the presence of are very common in Andean cities (Hannell 1976,
Fig. 3. Local climate zone (LCZ) property values of the (a,b,c) urban land cover and (d,e,f) urban morphology of different
sectors of Bogotá (see Fig. 1 for locations and abbreviations), compared with the ranges suggested by Stewart & Oke (2012)
for each LCZ type (as defined in Table 1). Ranges are indicated by the grey boxes, and values of the individual sectors are
indicated by the red lines
24 Clim Res 82: 15–31, 2020
Roncancio & Mejía 2015, Bustamante & Orellana (12.94−15.26°C). Explaining this is complicated, con-
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2018). Moreover, adding another system and param- sidering the presence of a large urban park which
eters into the LCZ scheme opens the possibility of should have cooling effects (Fig. 2) (Wong & Yu 2005).
improving the accuracy of the classification process. Likewise, Tmean tends to increase from open to com-
pact LCZs (Fig. 4c), and differences between the
LCZs are still noticeable (0.30−1°C), but this trend is
3.2. Daily and hourly thermal properties and not as clear as in the previous cases.
differences between LCZs in Bogotá In general, daily and hourly temperature proper-
ties are influenced by surface parameters (e.g. ISF).
Equal LCZs are assumed to have similar thermal Open low-rise (LCZs 9, 6, B), open mid-rise, and
properties (Stewart & Oke 2010, Middel et al. 2014, high-rise LCZs are influenced by the height of the
Stewart et al. 2014). However, in the case of Tmax and urban elements, while LCZ3 is influenced by the nar-
T13:00 (Fig. 4a,e), an increase or decrease in the val- rowing of the urban canyons. However, BMP (LCZ54)
ues from open to compact LCZs is not evident be- and UC (LCZ35) stations tend to have lower values in
cause their data are mostly within the same range relation to the other stations in the same LCZ. This is
(20−21 and 18−19°C). High temperatures (Tmax − due to their location (Fig. 1b) near the city limits (e.g.
T13:00 > 19°C) are evident in NGU (LCZ9), HD (LCZ3) BMP is within 1.5 km of the city limits). BMP can pro-
and CSP (LCZ58). In the first sector, energy absorp- duce different thermal measurements due to the ad-
tion is not apt to occur (PSF = 83.68 %). In the others, vection produced by exposure to cool air from the
more radiation reaches the surface due to the low BH rural area (Fenner et al. 2017, Skarbit et al. 2017).
value (8.64 m) and the open urban canyons (H/W = Similarly, the topography effect in UC, which is loc-
0.44). In contrast, the high ISF (40.47%) in AD (LCZ9) ated less than 1 km away from the mountain range
and the BSF in UC (LCZ35) favour radiation absorp- (> 3152 m a.s.l.) surrounding the east of the city, ex-
tion during daytime, which explains the lowest Tmax poses this sector to the east−west winds that descend
and T13:00 values (19.70−18.03°C). from the mountains (Gaitan et al. 2007). The effect of
On the other hand, there is a clear pattern in tem- topography on urban air temperature and UHI de-
perature variation between the stations and LCZs, velopment has previously been reported for several
which is evident in the early morning (T7:00), evening high-altitude Andean cities. Hannell (1976) observed
(T19:00) and especially, using Tmin data (Fig. 4d,f,b). that the nocturnal UHI in Quito, Ecuador (2818 m
There is an increase from open LCZs to compact a.s.l.), is destroyed by the drainage of cooler air
LCZs. Additionally, the highest Tmin, T7:00 and T19:00 that descends into the urban area from mountains
values are found in IK (LCZ54) and HD (LCZ3). In (> 4300 m a.s.l.) that enclose the city to the east and
both sectors, deep and narrow urban canyons (BH = west. Quito is located in a valley, which causes sepa-
13.49 m, SVF = 0.32, H/W = 0.70) cause a consider- rated UHIs during daytime due to the altitude varia-
able increase in night temperatures due to the long- tions of the urban sectors. Similar results were rep-
wave emission, which cannot be dispersed (Oke orted by Bustamante & Orellana (2018) for the city of
1982). Additionally, the high ISF in IK (> 50%), high Cuenca, Ecuador (2560 m a.s.l.), and several years
BSF in HD (> 45%) and low PSF (< 28%) in both sec- earlier by Roncancio & Mejía (2015) for Manizales,
tors (Table 4) can be translated into high heat capac- Colombia (2153 m a.s.l.). Both investigations consid-
ity and conductivity that is complemented by the ered topography as an important element in the gen-
energy generated by the intense anthropogenic ac- eration and distribution of UHIs.
tivities in these neighbourhoods. Subsequently, all The urban effects on air temperature can be easily
that energy is wasted as a turbulent flux of sensible identified by the difference in air temperature be-
heat into the local air mass that cannot be regulated tween 2 LCZs, expressing UHI intensity (ΔTLCZX-LCZD).
due to the lack of moisture generated by vegetated UHI intensity increased from LCZ9 to LCZ3 for Tmin,
surfaces that would help to increase latent heat flux Tmean, T7:00 and T19:00, when the differences between
(Arnfield 2003, Oke et al. 2017). This thermal bal- LCZs are most evident as well. For Tmax and T13:00 ,
ance process is also evidenced by the reduction in the intensities were negative for most stations, sug-
thermal amplitude (Table 3) from the rural station gesting the presence of an ‘urban cool island’ during
(LCZD) (12.8°C) to open (10.07°C) and compact LCZs the daytime (Fig. 5). The low or negative UHI magni-
(6.85°C), which also could show the reduction in the tudes in the daytime can be explained considering
nocturnal cooling rate. Noteworthy is JB (LCZ6B), that UHI is a phenomenon that depends on urban
which has one of the highest values at T7:00 and T19:00 cooling processes that mostly occur at night until
Ramírez-Aguilar & Souza: Thermal properties in Bogotá, Colombia 25
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early morning. During the first hours of the day, the 2009, Oke et al. 2017). This situation has been
UHI starts to disappear as a result of faster rural heat- reported in Mexico City (Cui & De Foy 2012), Santi-
ing, which increases sensible heat fluxes and re- ago de Chile (Peña 2008) and Tokyo, Japan (Takane
duces latent heat (Oke 1982, Szymanowski & Kryza & Kusaka 2011). Additionally, daytime cool islands
26 Clim Res 82: 15–31, 2020
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Fig. 5. Variations in urban heat island intensity (calculated as ΔTLCZX-LCZD) for the different sectors (see Fig. 1) and their local
climate zone (LCZ; defined in Table 1) according to daily (Tmin, Tmean and Tmax) and hourly (T7:00, T13:00 and T19:00) air temper-
ature observations for (a) LCZ9, (b) LCZ6B, (c) LCZ5 and (d) LCZ3. Negative values suggest the presence of an urban cool
island during daytime. The smaller font sizes in the LCZ type boxes indicates subclasses
are easily identifiable by using Tmax data (Kolokotroni shares similar characteristics with those Andean
et al. 2006) and are also attributed to the shading cities, specifically in altitude (> 2500 m a.s.l.) and
effect of buildings (Hinkel et al. 2003). Yang et al. location (Andes Mountains), they have significant
(2018) explained that the nature of cool islands could differences in their topographic conditions. Bogotá is
vary depending on LCZ classes. For open LCZs, the situated on a plateau that provides a flat urban area
phenomenon could be attributed to the cooling effect that is not strongly affected by the descending winds
of trees. For compact LCZs, cool islands could be from the mountains to the east. For Colombia’s capi-
attributed to a reduction in solar radiation gain. How- tal city, this allows for high radiation absorption dur-
ever, more exhaustive studies need to be conducted. ing daytime and the development of a UHI at night.
In contrast, Hannell (1976) and Bustamante & Orel- On the other hand, Quito and Cuenca are highly
lana (2018) reported considerable UHI intensities affected by their broken topography that generates
during the daytime in the Ecuadorian cities of Quito cooler winds at night, as explained above. As evi-
(> 4°C) and Cuenca (> 5°C), and the presence of an dence, LCZ5 and LCZ3 stations do not appear to
urban cool island during nighttime, with negative have uniform ΔTLCZX-LCZD values for daily and hourly
magnitudes of > −2°C and > −3.5°C. Although Bogotá temperatures (Fig. 5c,d). The reduction in UHI inten-
Ramírez-Aguilar & Souza: Thermal properties in Bogotá, Colombia 27
category (Fig. 7), ColD, HoD and TeN (Fig. 6a−c) are
not common in all sectors. Some percentages slightly
increased for open mid-rise and high-rise LCZs (5
and 4) and the compact LCZ (3). Specifically, IK
(LCZ54) and HD (LCZ3) have a small proportion of
ColD (<10%), there are significant values of TeN
(19.92−53.55%) and small percentages in the ‘hot’
category (<10.5%), which may suggest the presence
of UHIs for most of the year.
Considering hourly variation (T7:00, T13:00 and T19:
00), large percentages of HeD and ColD indices do
not appear simultaneously at the same hour. Most of
the time, ‘very cold’, ‘cold’ (Fig. 8) and HeD are
present for T7:00 and T19:00 (Fig. 9a,c). This means
that there is a demand for early morning and
evening heating in most sectors of the city. How-
ever, a trend in HeD variation according to the
LCZs is not very clear at T7:00 but is clearer for the
‘very cold’ category, where the open low-rise, mid-
rise, high-rise LCZs (6, 4, 5) and the compact LCZ
(3) have half the percentage (<12%) of LCZ9 and
LCZD (Tr) (30−45%), a pattern that also occurred in
the ‘cold’ category at T19:00.
On the other hand, the ‘pleasant’ category appears
with significant percentages (13−35%) for LCZs 6, 5
and 3 at T7:00 and there is an increase from open to
compact LCZs at T19:00 (Fig. 9a−c) when LCZs 6, 5 Fig. 8. Occurrence percentages for the temperature-based
indices according to hourly air temperature data for (a) early
and 4 increase the ‘pleasant’ category by more than morning (T7:00), (b) noon (T13:00) and (c) early evening (T19:00)
half (57−77%) compared to LCZ9 (< 37%). However, for the different sectors (see Fig. 1) and their local climate
the percentage reduction of this category for BMP zone (LCZ, as defined in Table 1)
Fig. 9. Occurrence percentages for thermal sensation categories according to hourly air temperature data (very cold < 10°C,
cold = 10−14°C, pleasant = 14−18°C, warm = 18−24°C, and hot > 24°C) for (a) early morning (T7:00), (b) noon (T13:00) and (c)
early evening (T19:00) for the different sectors (see Fig. 1) and their local climate zone (LCZ, as defined in Table 1)
Ramírez-Aguilar & Souza: Thermal properties in Bogotá, Colombia 29
and UC stations suggests that location is an impor- (4) The above results suggest a ΔTLCZX-LCZD in-
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tant factor in reducing ‘very cold’ or ‘cold’ early crease at night until the early hours of the morning
mornings and evenings. In contrast, HeD had in- (indicating the presence of a UHI).
significant percentages at noon (T13:00) (<3%) (Fig. 8b). Taking into consideration the above conclusions,
In this case, ColD has the highest percentage at all and acknowledging the temperature-based indices
stations (48−26%). Simultaneously, ‘warm’ had a and the thermal sensation category patterns between
high percentage (> 50%), suggesting cooling de- LCZs, the following deductions can be made:
mands at noon (Fig. 9b), although the ‘pleasant’ cat- (1) The importance of LCZs in understanding dif-
egory also has a significant proportion (15−50%) at ferences and temperature variations between diverse
this specific hour. Regarding the variability between urban sectors was shown when using the tempera-
LCZs, this is not evident for ColD, nor in any of the ture-based indices and thermal sensation categories.
thermal sensation categories during the day. (2) Temperature warming generated by the urban-
isation process in Bogotá is evidenced by the rise in
temperature from the rural station to the compact LCZ.
4. CONCLUSIONS (3) This thermal heating does not mean that Bogotá
neighbourhoods generate high temperatures due to
The thermal properties, variations and differences their specific topographic and geographic features.
between the 10 diverse urban sectors of Bogotá (4) The urban area of Bogotá significantly reduces
classified into the LCZ scheme were explored using the presence of low values in Tmin, Tmean, T19:00 and
distinctive daily air temperature data expressed T7:00. This can be observed in the progressive reduction
in maximum, minimum and mean values and air of HeD and CoN indices, and in the decrease in the
temperature data that were taken at various times ‘cold’ category and increase in the ‘pleasant’ category.
throughout the day (07:00, 13:00 and 19:00 h). These (5) Highly urbanised sectors that are located near
datasets were utilized to calculate 6 different temper- the city limits can reduce the urban form effects on
ature-based indices and 5 thermal sensation cate- air temperature. This is demonstrated by the lower
gories to find patterns between the LCZs. T7:00, T19:00 and ΔTLCZX-LCZD values, the larger HeD
The conclusions regarding the thermal changes and CoN percentages and the small increase in the
between LCZs using different air temperature obser- ‘pleasant’ category for T7:00 and T19:00 compared to
vations are as follows: other sectors that are classified in the same LCZ, but
(1) These changes are more influenced by the are located in the inner parts of the city.
urban land cover properties for open low-rise LCZs We conclude that it is challenging to make the
and by urban morphology properties for open mid- urban form parameter values coincide with the ranges
rise, high-rise and compact LCZs. proposed for the LCZ, classification, mainly because
(2) The air temperature variation between an LCZ different city sectors usually have unique character-
and its stations was much more evident in Tmin, which istics that are expressed in the variety of BHs, greater
is accompanied by a reduction in the thermal ampli- vegetation coverage or larger open spaces. The LCZ
tude, and to a lesser extent in Tmean, T19:00 and T7:00. scheme overlooks these distinguishing factors, as it
(3) The values of Tmin, Tmean, T19:00 and T7:00 are integrates the neighbourhood composition, but does
more equal between stations in the same LCZ. not fully acknowledge the spatial configurations
(4) The difficulty of finding a clearer pattern in the which can be expressed in building typology and the
air temperature variation between LCZs was high- distribution of other urban elements.
lighted in Tmax and T13:00.
When UHI intensity was analysed according to the Acknowledgements. This study was partially financed by
LCZs, our results indicated that ΔTLCZX-LCZD is clearer the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível
using Tmin, Tmean, T19:00 and T7:00 data. This also shows Superior – Brasil (CAPES) − Finance Code 001.
that LCZs can be grouped as follows:
(1) LCZ9 tends to have ΔTLCZX-LCZD < 1°C for Tmean , LITERATURE CITED
T7:00 and T19:00 and ΔTLCZX-LCZD < 2°C at Tmin.
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8, 6, 5, 4) have ΔTLCZX-LCZD = 1−3°C for Tmean, T7:00 and and Dublin’s urban heat island. Atmosphere (Basel) 5:
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Editorial responsibility: Guoyu Ren, Submitted: January 23, 2020; Accepted: August 19, 2020
Beijing, PR China Proofs received from author(s): October 26, 2020