ClimateIQ: Advancing Climate Hazard Assessment for Cities

Date: July 22, 2025

Prepared by the Urban Systems Lab, New York University

Executive Summary

This technical report provides a synthesis of the ClimateIQ team’s approach and progress over the past two years in developing an advanced, open-access platform for urban climate hazard assessment. ClimateIQ integrates physics-based climate simulations with machine learning methods to generate hyperlocal predictions of pluvial flooding and extreme heat at resolutions as fine as 10 meters. By combining high-resolution data with cloud-based visualization, the tool delivers actionable insights through an interactive dashboard and data portal designed for planners, emergency managers, community organizations, and researchers.

The report details the technical framework that underpins ClimateIQ, including the hybrid modeling approach, the development of flood and heat hazard datasets, the machine learning methodologies applied, and the design of the data access and visualization system. It documents the co-production process with stakeholders and outlines both the current capabilities and limitations of the tool. Supported by partnerships with global research institutions, NGOs, and municipal networks, ClimateIQ has made significant strides in building scalable, equitable solutions to climate risk assessment. This report marks a milestone in the project’s development, providing a comprehensive overview of the scientific, technical, and collaborative foundations of ClimateIQ as it moves toward future expansion and application worldwide.

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Acknowledgements

The ClimateIQ team acknowledges the dedication and expertise of its core members — Timon McPhearson, Ahmed Mustafa, Chris Kennedy, Eric Bonner, Dr. Madhavi Jain, Rajan Jain, Ashish Shrestha, Carole Alazki, Anna Kramer, Dr. Sally El Hajjar, Joe Steele, Lakshmi Vinay Lakshmi Vupparapally, Dr. Luis Ortiz, Shammunul Islam, and Ivonne Serna — whose sustained efforts over the past two years made this work possible. Support is generously provided by Google.org.

We are deeply grateful to our collaborators at Google.org and the Google Fellows program — Gabriel Doss, Kevin Brege, Tim Smith, Walt Askew, Maia Conrado, Tatiana Wu, Roman Sutormin, Shreya Keshive, Jenna Robinson, Anna Levenberg, Kathryn Chu, Qingyi Li, Twinkle Mehta, Sunny Mak, Prashant Kulkarni, and Rong Xiang — for their technical innovation and product development expertise.

We also thank our Advisory Group — Barbara Han, Mikhail Chester, Victor Galaz, David Miller, Cate Mingoya-LaFortune, Andrew Buck, Tony Nello, and Tamara Kneese — for their invaluable guidance and strategic insights.

Finally, we acknowledge the support of our partners and funders, including Virginia Climate Center at George Mason University, Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Google.org, Open Earth Foundation, Transitions Research, ICLEI, ICLEI Africa, C40, and the Global Covenant of Mayors, as well as the contributions of over 100 stakeholders whose feedback shaped the ClimateIQ platform.