Database of ASTI-Network Rome weather stations

The database includes hourly data of the main meteorological parameters measured in the area of Rome (Italy) by 17 of the weather stations belonging to the ASTI-Network. The dataset also includes hourly data of Urban Heat Island (UHI) intensity, calculated using the imperviousness method [1], covering the time period of two summers (June, July, August, JJA) 2019 and 2020.

The data are sampled by the sensors as 5-minute averages (except for precipitation, which is cumulative) and are subjected to a filtering process before being averaged to hourly resolution. The filtering process includes the following sequential steps: interference filter, climatic filter, temporal variation filter (of which spikes are a particular case), and spatial filter. Details on the implemented algorithms are provided in [1].

The final hourly data are calculated taking the right edge, and the time zone adopted is Central European Time (UTC+1).

The parameters available in the dataset include atmospheric pressure (relative and absolute), air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, wind gusts, rain rate, cumulative precipitation, dew point, and, where available, global radiation and UV index. More details about the variables and dataset formatting are provided in the file ‘README.txt’.

The file ‘Hourly_UHI.csv’ contains the UHI intensity, calculated using a linear fit between the measured temperatures (T) and the associated imperviousness (IMP, %) [1], for each time step, resulting in hourly resolution. Assuming the linear relationship T(IMP) = mIMP + q, the UHI intensity is given by 100m, and the corresponding column in the dataset is named ‘DT=100m’. Additional columns provide statistical parameters and the average values across all stations for temperature, wind speed, rain rate, and cumulative precipitation. Further details are available in the file ‘README.txt’.

The file ‘metadata.csv’ contains metadata for each weather station, such as ID, coordinates, altitude, and associated imperviousness. Figure 'asti_network_sat.png' shows their spatial distribution on 2d map.

This dataset forms the basis of the paper “Measuring the urban heat island of Rome through a dense weather station network and remote sensing imperviousness data” published in December 2022 in the journal Urban Climate (doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2022.101355). It was also used for validating the numerical model developed within the LIFE-ASTI project.

The ASTI-Network measurement network consists of rooftop weather stations and distributed throughout the city of Rome. It includes amateur stations from the Meteo Lazio network (meteoregionelazio.it) and eight stations funded by the EU LIFE-ASTI project "Implementation of a forecasting system for urban heat island effect for the development of urban adaptation strategy" (LIFE17 CCA/GR/000108) and installed by the CNR-ISAC research team based in Rome.

Bibliography

1. Cecilia, A., Casasanta, G., Petenko, I., Conidi, A., Argentini, S. Measuring the urban heat island of Rome through a dense weather station network and remote sensing imperviousness data, Urban Climate 47 (01 2022).