Local climate zones

  • Local climate zones and their subtypes
  • Local climate zone map in practive: Zürich, Switzerland

meteoblue provides local climate zone maps for any city in the world. A climate zone map is generated from satellite images with a horizontal resolution of 10m, using proprietary ground-truthing algorithms. Local climate zone (LCZ) information is the basis for sensor placement, for statistical analysis, and for model validation and enhancement.

What is a Local Climate Zone?

LCZs are a means to classify surface types that affect the local climate differently. 10 LCZ types (1-10) describe built-up areas in terms of building types and spatial arrangements, materials, human activities, plants, ground surface properties, etc.

7 more types (A-G) describe land cover in terms of plant cover and ground surface properties. The definitions of LCZ were introduced in Stewart, I.D. and Oke, T.R. 2012. Local Climate Zones for urban temperature studies.

— Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 93: 1879-1900.

  1. Compact high-rise: LCZ 1 is characterised by a dense mix of tall buildings (more than 10 floors) with concrete, steel, stone, and glass construction materials. There is little or no vegetation and the surface is mostly paved.
  2. Compact midrise: LCZ 2 is characterised by a dense mix of midrise buildings (3-9 floors) with concrete, steel, stone, and glass construction materials. There is little or no vegetation and the surface is mostly paved.
  3. Compact low-rise: LCZ 3 is characterised by a dense mix of low-rise buildings (1-3 floors) with concrete, steel, stone, and glass construction materials. There is little or no vegetation and the surface is mostly paved.
  4. Open high-rise: LCZ 4 is characterised by an open arrangement of tall buildings (more than 10 floors) with concrete, steel, stone, and glass construction materials. Low plants and scattered trees create a permeable landcover.
  5. Open midrise: LCZ 5 is characterised by an open arrangement of midrise buildings (3-9 floors) with concrete, steel, stone, and glass construction materials. Low plants and scattered trees create a permeable landcover.
  6. Open low-rise: LCZ 6 is characterised by an open arrangement of low-rise buildings (1-3 floors) with concrete, steel, stone, and glass construction materials. Low plants and scattered trees create a permeable landcover.
  7. Lightweight low-rise: LCZ 7 is characterised by a dense mix of single-story buildings with lightweight construction materials like wood, thatch and corrugated metal. There is little or no vegetation and the surface is mostly hard-packed.
  8. Large low-rise: LCZ 8 is characterised by an open arrangement of large low-rise buildings (1-3 floors) with concrete, steel, stone, and metal construction materials. There is little or no vegetation and the surface is mostly paved.
  9. Sparsely built: LCZ 9 is characterised by a sparse arrangement of small or medium-sized buildings in a natural setting. Low plants and scattered trees create a permeable landcover.
  10. Heavy industry: LCZ 10 is characterised by low-rise and midrise industrial structures like towers, tanks and stacks with metal, steel and concrete construction materials. There is little or no vegetation and the surface is mostly paved or hard-packed.
  1. Dense trees: LCZ A is characterised by deciduous and/or evergreen tree. It is a heavily wooded landscape and the landcover is mostly permeable. The zone functions as natural forest, tree cultivation or urban park.
  2. Scattered trees: LCZ B is characterised by deciduous and/or evergreen tree. It is a lightly wooded landscape and the landcover is mostly permeable. The zone functions as natural forest, tree cultivation or urban park.
  3. Bush, scrub: LCZ C is characterised by an open arrangement of bushes, shrubs and short, woody trees. The landcover is mostly permeable with bare soil or sand. The zone functions as natural scrubland or agriculture.
  4. Low plants: LCZ D is characterised by a featureless landscape of grass or herbaceous plants or crops. There is little or no trees. The zone functions as natural grassland, agriculture, or urban park.
  5. Bare rock or paved: LCZ E is characterised by a featureless landscape of rock or paved cover. There is little or no vegetation. The zone functions as natural desert (rock) or urban transportation.
  6. Bare soil or sand: LCZ F is characterised by a featureless landscape of soil or sand cover. There is often little or no vegetation. The zone functions as natural desert or agriculture.
  7. Water: LCZ G is characterised by large, open water bodies such as seas and lakes, or small bodies such as rivers, reservoirs, and lagoons.
The map above shows the local climate zone distribution for the city of Zurich (CH) based on satellite image analysis.