MoBClim

O1: To update the description of current urban climate conditions for 6 cities and to extend its analysis to 2 other analyzed cities.

O2: To realize an assessment of thermal discomfort in the analyzed cities using some relevant bioclimatic indices (UTCI and WCPI) applied for summer HWs and winter CWa.

O3: The modeling of urban climate at a fine spatial scale for relevant urban areas.

O4: To explore the impact of green and blue solutions for the most relevant key-regions of thermal discomfort.

O5: Climate change education for citizens and stakeholders based on project results.

A.     Scientific papers:

1. Scientific article submitted in a WoS journal:

1. Schlechtweg, P., Brenning, A., Khaykho, J., Sfîcă, L., 2025. Mapping heat-related risk in three mid-sized European cities. City and Environment Interactions (submitted, October 2025).

2. Ichim, P., Sfîcă, L., Bistricean, P.B., Crețu, Ș.C., Hrițac, R., 2025. Spatial identification and prediction of thermal spots based on mobile measurements in urban areas. Frontiers in Climatology, submitted November 2025 (submitted, December 2025).

3. Țurcanu, R., Ichim, P., Sfîcă, L., 2026. Optimizing biometeorological comfort in urban pedestrian areas through various urban design scenarios. Geographia Technica, submitted February 2026.

 

B.      Participations in scientific events and conferences:

B.1. Abroad:

1. Hrițac, R., Breabăn, I.G., Sfîcă, L., Ichim, P., 2025. From cold pools to heat islands: machine learning-based urban temperature mapping during cold season, Mediterranean Geosciences Union, 5th Annual Meeting, 10-12 of November, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

2. Corocăescu, A.-C., Sfîcă, L., Ichim, P., Brenning, A., Crețu, Ș.-C., Grozavu, A., and Croitoru, I.-M., 2026. High-Resolution Land Surface Temperature Mapping for Urban Climate Applications Using Satellite Fusion and Machine Learning in Google Earth Engine, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-5920, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-5920, 2026.

3. Sfîcă, L., Șoitu, D., Pintilie, E., Ichim, R., Hrițac, R., 2026. Insights into weather related excess mortality in the urban climate context of Iași. Annual forum of EC2U universities allience, Joint Scientific Session of WP4&WP6, Turku, 19-21th of May 2026, Turku, Finland.

 

B.2. In Romania:

1. Sfîcă, L., 2025. Premises, perspectives and opportunities in urban climatology research in Romania. Workshop: GIS applied in regional climatology, bioclimatology, topoclimatology and microclimatology, Vatra Dornei, 29 of August-1st of September 2025 (in Romanian).

2. Ichim, P., 2025. Urban climate modeling with ENVI-met: scientific tool in applied climatology and bioclimatology. Workshop: GIS applied in regional climatology, bioclimatology, topoclimatology and microclimatology, Vatra Dornei, 29 of August-1st of September 2025 (in Romanian).

3. Sfîcă, L., 2025. Progress in urban climate research in northeastern Romania. Webinar: Research projects carried out by ARMAE members, 2 of September 2025, online (in Romanian).

4. Ichim, P., Țurcanu, R.S., Sfîcă, L., Crețu, C.Ș., Hrițac, R., 2025. Microclimatic Impacts of Paved vs. Green Urban Surfaces: ENVI-met-Based Analysis, International Geographical Seminar “Dimitrie Cantemir”, Ediția a XLV-a, 24-26 of October, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași.

5. Corocăescu, A.C., Sfîcă, L., Ichim, P., Grozavu, A., 2025. Assessment of the thermal capacity of urban parks to mitigate the urban heat island in the main cities in Romania, International Geographical Seminar “Dimitrie Cantemir”, Ediția a XLV-a, 24-26 of October, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași.

6. Hrițac, R., Breabăn, I.G., Sfîcă, L., Ichim, P., 2025. Synoptic drivers of high-impact winter hazards in Romania, International Geographical Seminar “Dimitrie Cantemir”, Ediția a XLV-a, 24-26 of October, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași.

7. Sfîcă, L., Țurcanu, R., Ichim, P., 2026. Fine-Scale Assessment of Urban Climate Conditions: Optimizing Biometeorological Comfort in Pedestrian Areas of Iași City Center Using ENVI-met Simulations. 18th edition of Air and Water – Components of the Environment” Conference, 20-22.03.2025, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

8. Croitoru I.M., Sfîcă, L., Hrițac, R., Corocăescu, A.C., 2026. Analysis of thermal inversion phenomena in urban areas using modern methods and climatic modelling in ENVI-Met, 32^nd edition of International Symposium of GIS – Backup Edition, Faculy of Geography and Geology, 27 of March 2026, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași.

9. Corocăescu, A.C., Sfîcă, L., Croitoru, I.M., Grozavu, A., 2026. Thermal regulation potential of blue-green corridors in urban areas: assessing the cooling intensity of lakes and adjacent green spaces. 32^nd edition of International Symposium of GIS – Backup Edition, Faculy of Geography and Geology, 27 of March 2026, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași.

 

B.3. Participation in student conferences in Romania under the coordination of members of the MOBCLIM research team:

1. Corocăescu, A.C., 2025. Multisensor fusion and spatial disaggregation of Land Surface Temperature: a comparative analysis of Landsat 8/9-Sentinel-2 and MODIS-Sentinel-2 Approaches (Award-winning presentation). National Student Symposium “Mihai David”, 15th edition, November 21-23, 2025, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași (in Romanian).

2. Croitoru, I.M., 2025. Modern methods for analyzing thermal inversion phenomena. Case study: Ski slope in Iași municipality. National Student Symposium “Mihai David”, 15th edition, November 21-23, 2025, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași (in Romanian).

3. Țurcanu, R.S., 2025. Evaluating the effectiveness of vegetation in alleviating urban thermal discomfort through ENVI-met full forcing modeling (Award-winning presentation). National Student Symposium “Mihai David”, 15th edition, November 21-23, 2025, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași (in Romanian).

4. Pintilie, E., 2025. Analysis of thermal comfort in the cold season for the municipality of Iași based on bioclimatic indicators derived from UCLARIS data (2013-2022). National Student Symposium “Mihai David”, 15th edition, November 21-23, 2025, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași (in Romanian).

5. Croitoru I.M., 2026. Analiza fenomenelor de inversiune termică prin metode moderne de analiză și modelare climatică în ENVI-Met. Coordonatori: Lect. univ. dr. Pavel Ichim; Conf. univ. dr. Lucian Sfîcă. Simpozionul național al studenților geografi, Ediția a XXXII-a, București, 20-22 martie 2026.

6. Pintilie E., 2026. Analiza confortului termic în sezoanele de iarnă și vară pentru municipiul Iași utilizând datele UCLARIS (2013-2022). Coordonatori: Conf. univ. dr. Lucian Sfîcă, Lect. univ. dr. Pavel Ichim. Simpozionul național al studenților geografi, Ediția a XXXII-a, București, 20-22 martie 2026.

7. Țurcanu, R. 2026. Optimizarea confortului biometeorologic în zonele pietonale urbane prin diverse scenarii de proiectare urbană. Coordonatori: Lect. univ. dr. Pavel Ichim, Conf. univ. dr. Lucian Sfîcă. Simpozionul național al studenților geografi, Ediția a XXXII-a, București, 20-22 martie 2026.

 

C.     Data processing script for fine-scale LST spatialization:

1. https://code.earthengine.google.com/14141fcb73754b73ada8f907054d6679

 

D. Cognitive and socio-economic impact.

a. Social-media posting:

1. Facebook: https://shorturl.at/01TnD (in Romanian).

2. Press: Ziarul de Iași  (in Romanian).

3. Press: Ec2U Magazine (in Romanian). 

4. Facebook: https://shorturl.at/jZpYH (in Romanian).

 

b. Public events:

 1. Participation in the European Researchers' Night, September 26, 2025, Iași, Palace Garden.

 

 

2. Blended Intensive Program: “Urban Heat Island – from problem to solutions”. The program was directly aligned with SDG #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities and was delivered in an international, interdisciplinary format with the involvement of four EC2U universities. 

The programme followed a summer school schedule, with online activities (2 of March – 1 of April) and evaluation (6-13 of May) and on-site activities taking place in Alexandru Ioan Cuza of Iași between 20 and 24 of April 2026. In this activity have been involved Students (3), Master Students (10) and PhD Students (3) from 5 universities (University of Turku-Finland, University of Coimbra-Portugal, University of Pavia, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, University of Lviv). The speakers in the BIP are specialist and experts in various fields connected with urban climate studies (Prof. Jukka Kayhko, Assoc. Prof. Lucian Sfîcă, Lect. Lucian Roșu), univeristy climate managers (Lukas Lehner), architects (Gaia Terlicher), building thermal efficienty (Prof. Eugenio Rodrigues). Training activities were ensured by the local MOBCLIM team from the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași (Lect. Pavel Ichim, PhD Students: Alexandru Corocăescu, Claudiu Crețu, Robert Hrițac).

This BIP took participants from problem analysis all the way to practical, evidence-based solutions. Working on the city of Iași as a real-world case study — supported by fine-scale climate data produced by the host team's MOBCLIM research project — participants analyzed UHI dynamics and co-design Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) such as public playgrounds, blue-green infrastructure, urban ventilation corridors and indoor thermal solutions.

This BIP fully covered the objectives of a planned summer school scheduled in the MOBCLIM project for 2027 and represents the accomplishment in-advance of the activity.

Further details on this BIP: https://ec2u.eu/magazine/news/blended-intensive-programme-urban-heat-island-problem-solutions.