Uncovering urban microclimate with citizen sensors

Rohan Agrawal & Jesus Lizana

University of Oxford

Abstract

Citizen weather stations (CWS) are creating new possibilities for observing urban climate at the spatial and temporal scales needed for heat adaptation, building performance analysis, and microclimate modelling. Traditional official weather networks provide high-quality observations, but their spatial density is often too limited to capture neighbourhood-scale differences in temperature driven by land cover, urban form, shading, ventilation, and local exposure. This presentation explores how dense CWS networks can complement official observations and support a more detailed understanding of urban heat patterns. We will discuss how crowdsourced observations can be transformed into more usable urban climate datasets through harmonisation, quality assessment, correction, and uncertainty-aware interpretation. The presentation also focuses on how improved CWS datasets can support downstream applications such as high-resolution urban temperature mapping, model evaluation, heat-risk assessment, and climate-sensitive planning.

Bio

Rohan Agrawal  is a DPhil candidate studying urban overheating at high spatio-temporal resolution using data from citizen weather stations. By combining this non-conventional dataset with urban features, he investigates the key drivers of the urban heat island effect and overheating. His work provides actionable insights for climate adaptation and resilient city planning. He is supervised by Prof. Jesus Lizana and fully funded by UKRI EPSRC (2928092).

Prior to his doctoral studies, Rohan spent three years as a Research Associate under Prof. David Wallom, contributing to projects including the European Commission’s SWForum.eu, supporting the open-source community to track and benchmark EC-funded initiatives.

He also conducted energy analytics for the UK Department of Energy Security and Net Zero. His analysis of smart-meter data was pivotal in quantifying the impact of heat pump adoption on secondary substations, supporting the UK’s transition to a decarbonized grid.

He holds a BS in Computer Science from the University of Mississippi (2021) with minors in International Relations and Mathematics. An avid aviation and space enthusiast, he spends his time flying sailplanes, building rockets, and planning his next travel adventure.

Jesus Lizana is Associate Professor in Engineering Science at the University of Oxford, with an experience profile in architecture and engineering. He leads the research on Zero-Carbon Heating and Cooling at the ZERO Institute and serves as a Governing Body Fellow at Wolfson College.

Professor Lizana has an international and interdisciplinary career, having worked across Spain, Germany, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. At Oxford, he is engaged in a wide range of research initiatives and has secured several prestigious competitive grants, including a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (MSCA). His research focuses on climate change mitigation and adaptation, heating decarbonisation, and sustainable cooling, using novel materials, numerical modelling, climate analysis, real-world experimentation, and strategic planning. He also serves as Co-Chair of the Sustainable Cooling Group at CIBSE, Student Activities Chair of the ASHRAE UK Chapter, and is a member of the scientific and technical committees of major international conferences, including CICSE and SDEWES. He also acts as a board member and scientific reviewer for leading journals, conferences, and research programmes.

Alongside his academic work, Professor Lizana is a consultant and UK Chartered Engineer (FCIBSE CEng) on building engineering projects across the United Kingdom, India, Spain, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia. He advises on building performance, zero-carbon energy systems, data analytics, risk assessment, and sustainable and resilient cooling solutions. He has provided strategic guidance to international organisations, including UNEP, CIBSE, and the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).

His career has received wide recognition, including the SRUK/CERU Emerging Talent Award (2025) for outstanding scientific achievement, the MPLS Teaching Award (2025) at the University of Oxford, the ASHRAE Award (2025) for Zero-Carbon Education, and the CIBSE Award (2025) for Learning and Development. Earlier distinctions include first prize for Best PhD Thesis (GECAT 2020) awarded by the Royal Spanish Society of Chemistry and the Royal Spanish Physical Society, the Young Prize for Scientific Culture (2018) in experimental sciences, the International Year Award (2018) from Young European Associated Researchers, and multiple awards for best scientific publications.

Professor Lizana earned his PhD in low-carbon buildings from the University of Seville, Spain, following a five-year integrated degree in Architecture and Building Engineering and an MSc in Building Engineering. Prior to joining Oxford, he held academic and research positions at the University of Seville, the University of Edinburgh, the Technical University of Munich, the University of Lisbon, and the Spanish National Research Council.