Urban atmospheric environment and human biometeorological studies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

The urban climate system is a complex system constituting many components including urban air pollution and the thermal climate. While air pollution modifies local climate through the composition of the air, human biometeorological condition is assessed through thermal indices in order to understand the effects of thermal climate on man. In this study, a holistic approach was applied to review the past research in urban climate of Dar es Salaam, by considering the past research in air pollution and thermal climate about the city. Dar es Salaam is one of the fastest growing cities in the world, and this study is very relevant to future research in urban climate and urban planning, especially to cities with similar environmental challenges like Dar es Salaam. It was noted that the city, as many other cities in Africa or developing world, lacks a proper air quality monitoring programme despite of air pollution being a problem many years ago. However, meteorological observation started as early as in nineteenth century with rainfall being the most sampled environmental parameter in terms of spatial distribution, hence providing a potential to future research and comprehensive understanding of the urban climate.