Unraveling the intractable trilemma in urban weather and climate modeling

Author

• Peiyuan LI
• Ashish SHARMA
• Rao KOTAMARTHI
• Alberto MARTILLI
• Subimal GHOSH
• Cristina NEGRI
• Scott COLLIS
• Lee CHAPMAN
• Fei CHEN
• Luis M. A. BETTENCOURT
• Winston T. L. CHOW, Singapore Management UniversityFollow

Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

4-2026

Abstract

Urban weather and climate modeling is constrained by the highly heterogeneous and dynamic nature of cities. It exhibits a persistent trilemma between spatial granularity, spatiotemporal coverage, and physical interpretability. We articulate this challenge and propose a hybrid framework that integrates physics -based models, urban observations, and machine learning. Framing urban modeling as an integration problem across methods and scales, we provide a structured guide for next -generation, decision -relevant urban climate capabilities.

Discipline

Environmental Sciences | Urban Studies and Planning

Research Areas

Integrative Research Areas

Areas of Excellence

Growth in Asia

Publication

npj Urban Sustainability

Volume

6

Issue

1

First Page

1

Last Page

11

ISSN

2661-8001

Identifier

10.1038/s42949-026-00388-z

Publisher

Nature Research

Citation

LI, Peiyuan; SHARMA, Ashish; KOTAMARTHI, Rao; MARTILLI, Alberto; GHOSH, Subimal; NEGRI, Cristina; COLLIS, Scott; CHAPMAN, Lee; CHEN, Fei; BETTENCOURT, Luis M. A.; and Winston T. L. CHOW. Unraveling the intractable trilemma in urban weather and climate modeling. (2026). npj Urban Sustainability. 6, (1), 1-11.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cis_research/643

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-026-00388-z