The lecture and seminar Climatology are part of the bachelor’s module Climatology and Biogeography, which is usually taken in the second semester. For B.Sc. students, the module consists of both a lecture and a seminar, while B.A. students only attend the lecture. The lecture is one of the fundamental courses within the first two semesters of physical geography, as it provides the foundations of climatology on which many later modules are based (e.g. Landscapes and Ecosystems of Central Europe and Regional Geography).

The topics covered throughout the semester are highly diverse and address many different subfields of climatology, including:

• Climatological variables (e.g. temperature, air pressure, precipitation, wind)
• Large-scale circulation systems and climate classifications (e.g. trade winds)
• Urban climate (e.g. urban heat islands, urban energy balance)
• Topoclimatology (e.g. land–sea breeze systems, mountain–valley wind systems)
• Paleoclimate (e.g. historical climate data, climate variability)
• Climate change (e.g. greenhouse effect, glacier melt)

In the B.Sc. seminar, the lecture contents are explored in greater depth. In addition, students work on the analysis, evaluation, and visualization of climate data. Furthermore, students may visit our climate measurement stations, where theoretical knowledge can be directly applied in practice.

The lecture concludes with a module examination at the end of the semester, while B.Sc. students additionally complete coursework assignments within the seminar. Moreover, all students participate in the mandatory Sensational Walk (Field Days in Climatology). This is an urban climatological walk through different climatopes in Dortmund, where small-scale temperature differences caused, for example, by trees or highly sealed surfaces, can be directly experienced.