Climatic change and urbanization effect in China

Climatic change and urbanization effect in China during the last 39 years were investigated. It is found that a warming of about 0.23℃ for the annual temperature has been noticed from 1951 to 1989. The warmings of about 0.78 ℃ in winter and 0.34 3℃ in spring have been shown. It is also presented that a cooling of about -0.27℃ in summer has been indicated. The bigger cities are warmer than smaller cities in China. The dried trends in the annual precipitation during the last 39 years were presented. The precipitation decreased obviously in summer all over China. The bigger cities were drier than smaller cities.

Effects of urbanization and forest type on species composition and diversity,forest characteristics,biomass carbon sink,and their associations in Changchun,Northeast China:implications for urban carbon stock improvement

Differences in forest attributes and carbon sequestration of each organ and layer between broadleaved and conifer forests of central and outer urban areas are not well-defined,hindering the precise management of urban forests and improvement of function.To clarify the effect of two forest types with different urbanization intensities,we determined differences in vegetation composition and diversity,structural traits,and carbon stocks of 152 plots(20 m×20 m)in urban park forests in Changchun,which had the largest green quantity and carbon density effectiveness.We found that 1.1-fold thicker and healthier trees,and 1.6-to 2.0-fold higher,healthier,denser,and more various shrubs but with sparser trees and herbs occurred in the central urban forests(p<0.05)than in the outer forests.The conifer forests exhibited 30–70%obviously higher tree aboveground carbon sequestration(including stem and leaf)and 20%bigger trees,especially in the outer forests(p<0.05).In contrast,1.1-to 1.5-fold higher branch stocks,healthier and more diverse trees were found in broadleaved forests of both the inner and outer forests(p<0.05).Plant size and dominant species had similarly important roles in carbon stock improvement,especially big-sized woody plants and Pinus tabuliformis.In addition,a higher number of deciduous or needle species positively affected the broadleaved forest of the central urban area and conifer forest of the outer urban area,respectively.These findings can be used to guide precise management and accelerate the improvement of urban carbon function in Northeast China in the future.

Geospatial Analysis of Urban Heat Island Effects and Tree Equity

In recent decades, Urban Heat Island Effects have become more pronounced and more widely examined. Despite great technological advances, our current societies still experience great spatial disparity in urban forest access. Urban Heat Island Effects are measurable phenomenon that are being experienced by the world’s most urbanized areas, including increased summer high temperatures and lower evapotranspiration from having impervious surfaces instead of vegetation and trees. Tree canopy cover is our natural mitigation tool that absorbs sunlight for photosynthesis, protects humans from incoming radiation, and releases cooling moisture into the air. Unfortunately, urban areas typically have low levels of vegetation. Vulnerable urban communities are lower-income areas of inner cities with less access to heat protection like air conditioners. This study uses mean evapotranspiration levels to assess the variability of urban heat island effects across the state of Tennessee. Results show that increased developed land surface cover in Tennessee creates measurable changes in atmospheric evapotranspiration. As a result, the mean evapotranspiration levels in areas with less tree vegetation are significantly lower than the surrounding forested areas. Central areas of urban cities in Tennessee had lower mean evapotranspiration recordings than surrounding areas with less development. This work demonstrates the need for increased tree canopy coverage.

Numerical Investigation and Uncertainty Analysis of Eastern China's Large-Scale Urbanization Effect on Regional Climate

Eastern China has experienced rapid urbanization during the past four decades,and it is necessary to understand the impacts of the urbanization on the regional climate.Previous simulations with either regional climate models(RCMs)or general circulation models have produced inconsistent and statistically non-significant urbanization effects on precipitation during the East Asian summer monsoon.In the studies with RCMs,reanalysis data were used as the lateral boundary conditions(LBCs)for both urban and non-urban experiments.Since the same LBCs may limit the urbanization effect,in this study,the Weather Research and Forecasting(WRF)model nested within the Global Forecast System(GFS),both of which were coupled with an urban canopy model,were used to explore the urbanization effect over eastern China.The WRF’s LBCs in the runs with/without urbanization were provided by the corresponding GFS runs with/without urbanization.The results showed a significant decrease in precipitation over North China,mainly due to a marked decrease in evaporation and the divergence induced by the reduced latent heating in the mid and upper atmosphere,from the experiment with urbanization.Meanwhile,to the north and south of the large-scale urbanization areas,especially to the south of the Yangtze River,precipitation increased significantly due to largescale urbanization-induced circulation change.With the same LBCs for the WRF runs with/without urbanization,the urbanization effects were limited only to urban and nearby areas;no significant change was found to the south of the Yangtze River,since the same LBCs hampered the effects of urbanization on large-scale circulation.In addition,this study demonstrated that the urban fraction may be a key factor that affects the intensity of the urbanization effect within the urban areas.

Diurnal Variations of Summer Precipitation in the Beijing Area and the Possible Effect of Topography and Urbanization

The present study examined the diurnal variations of summer precipitation in the Beijing area by usingsubdaily precipitation and wind observations. A combined effect of topography and urbanization on thecharacteristics of diurnal variations was suggested. It was shown that stations located in the plain areaexhibited typical night rain peaks, whereas those in the mountainous area exhibited clear afternoon peaks ofprecipitation diurnal variations. The precipitation peaks were associated with wind fields around the Beijingarea, which were found to be highly modulated by mountain-valley circulation and urban-country circulation.The lower-tropospheric wind exhibited a clear diurnal shift in its direction from north at 0800 LST to southat 2000 LST, which reflected mountain-valley circulation. The transitions from valley to mountain windand the opposite generally happened after sunset and sunrise, respectively, and both occurred earlier for thestations located closer to mountains. By comparing the diurnal variations of precipitation at stations in anortheast suburb, an urban area, and a southwest suburb, it was revealed that the northeast suburb grouphad the highest normalized rainfall frequency, but the southwest group had the lowest from late afternoon tolate evening. On the contrary, in the early morning from about 0200 to 1000 LST, the southwest group andurban group had the highest normalized rainfall frequency. This pattern might originate from the combinedeffects of mountain-valley topography and urbanization.

Spatial and temporal analysis of urban heat island effect over Tiruchirappalli city using geospatial techniques

Alterations made to the natural ground surface and the anthropogenic activity elevate the surface and air temperature in the urban areas compared with the surrounding rural areas,known as urban heat island effect.Thermal remote sensors measure the radiation emitted by ground objects,which can be used to estimate the land surface temperature and are beneficial for studying urban heat island effects.The present study investigates the spatial and temporal variations in the effects of urban heat island over Tiruchirappalli city in India during the summer and winter seasons.The study also identifies hot spots and cold spots within the study area.In this study,a significant land surface temperature difference was observed between the urban and rural areas,predominantly at night,indicating the presence of urban heat island at night.These diurnal land surface temperature fluctuations are also detected seasonally,with a relatively higher temperature intensity during the summer.The trend line analysis shows that the mean land surface temperature of the study area is increasing at a rate of 0.166 K/decade with p less than 0.01.By using the spatial autocorrelation method with the urban heat island index as the key parameter,hot spots with a 99 percent confidence level and a 95 percent confidence level were found within the urban area.A hot spot with 95 and 90 percent confidence level was identified outside the urban area.This spike in temperature for a particular region in the rural area is due to industry and the associated built-up area.The study also identified cold spots with a 90 percent confidence level within the rural area.However,cold spots with a 95 and 99 percent confidence level were not identified within the study area.

Impact of the Urban Heat Island Effect on Ozone Pollution in Chengdu City,China

With the advancement of urbanization,the urban heat island effect and ozone pollution have become hot issues in urban research.The urban heat island effect can impact ozone conversion,but its mechanism of action is unclear.In this study,the effects of the urban heat island effect on ozone concentration in Chengdu City,China,were investigated by comparing the ozone concentration under different heat island levels with ozone data from March 2020 to February 2021 and the temperature and wind field data of ERA5-Land during the same period.The results showed that:1)regarding the distribution characteristics,the ozone concentration in Chengdu presented a‘high in summer and low in winter’distribution.The ozone concentration in summer(189.54µg/m^(3))was nearly twice that in winter(91.99µg/m^(3)),and the ozone diurnal variation presented a‘single peak and single valley’distribution,with a peak at 16:00.2)For the characteristics of the heat island effect,the heat island intensity in Chengdu was obviously higher in spring than in other seasons,and the diurnal variation showed a‘single peak and single valley’distribution,with the peak and trough values appearing at 9:00 and 17:00,respectively.Spatially,the eastern part of Chengdu was a heat island,while the western and northwestern parts were mostly cold island.3)The correlation analysis between heat island intensity and ozone concentration showed a significant positive correlation but with a 7–8 h time lag.Ambient air temperature was not the main factor affecting ozone concentration.The heat island effect impacts the ozone concentration in two ways:changing the local heat budget to promote ozone generation and forming local urban wind,which promotes ozone diffusion or accumulation and forms different areas of low and high ozone values.

Changing Characteristics of Urban Heat Island Effect in Weihai City

Based on the local climate zoning theory and the observation data of hourly temperature of 22 automatic weather stations from 2012 to 2021, K-means clustering algorithm was used to analyze the daily, monthly, seasonal, annual and spatial variation characteristics of urban heat island effect in Weihai City in the past 10 years. The results showed that in recent 10 years, the average urban heat island intensity was 1.24 ℃, showing a gradual weakening trend of -0.169 3 ℃/10 a;the summer average heat island intensity was 0.86 ℃, showing a gradual weakening trend of -0.047 5 ℃/10 a. The heat island intensity had obvious diurnal variation characteristics, that is, "it was weak in the day and strong at night". In terms of seasonal variation, heat island effect was the weakest in summer, stronger in spring and autumn, and the strongest in winter. The diurnal, seasonal and annual changes of heat island intensity showed a reverse trend to those of temperature. The high-value area of urban heat island was highly consistent with human residential activity areas and industrial and commercial intensive areas, and the extension trend of heat island intensity was the same as the direction of urban development and construction. The "cold island phenomenon" in some offshore areas was related to the geographical location, terrain and the southeast monsoon trend in summer. The adverse effects of urban heat island effect can be reduced by optimizing the types and distribution of vegetation communities, rationally planning and constructing urban water body, promoting green building materials and adjusting shape design, etc.

Characteristics of urban heat island effect in Lhasa City

This paper analyzes the Urban Heat Island （UHI） effect in Lhasa City of Tibet using meteorological observations, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index （NDVI）, Land Surface Temperature （LST） data obtained from Earth Observing System/Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer （EOS/MODIS） information, and correlation and composite analyses. The results show： （1） Areas with high temperature are primarily located in the center of the city or nearby counties, while low temperature areas are in the suburbs of counties. The area with high temperature has expanded in recent years and some high-temperature centers have even migrated to certain other regions. （2） The UHI intensity tends to be stronger both in annual and seasonal variations, especially in winter. Also, LST is somewhat positively related to mean air temperature. （3） A negative correlation exists between the changes of LST and NDVI with the increase of vegetation from urban to rural areas in different seasons. （4） The UHI intensity is negatively correlated with precipitation while positively correlated with wind speed, and the relation between the UHI intensity and evaporation varies with the seasons, namely, the intensity is positively correlated with summer evaporation but negatively corre- lated with winter evaporation. （5） UHI intensity might be enhanced by intensified urbanization, wherein built-up areas expand, there is increased heat from human activity, and there is more artificial heat input to the atmosphere.

Community Needs Assessment in Relation to Urban Heat Effects: A Study in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Urban areas usually experience higher temperatures compared with their rural surroundings; this is characterized as urban heat islands （UHIs）, which are the result of environmental overheating due to anthropic activities. Urban areas,which are characterised by massive construction that reduce local vegetation coverage, are subject to the absorption of a large amount of solar radiation,which is only partially released into the atmosphere by radiation in the thermal infrared.

Inversion of Urban Heat Island Effect in Xi'an City

[Objective] The study aims at conducting the inversion of urban heat island effect in Xi＇an City. [Method] Based on the United States Landsat-7 ETM~ and TM data in different phases, the spatial distribution and changing trends of urban heat island effect in Xi＇an City were ana- lyzed, and some corresponding measures to relieve the heat island effect in Xran were put forward according to its spatial distribution and intensity changes. [ Result] Urban heat island effect was very obvious in Xi＇an City, that is, surface temperature of urban areas was distinctly higher than that of surrounding suburban areas, and the high-temperature region was akin to an island with a clear boundary. As the enlarging of Xi＇an City, the areas subjected to heat island effect expended toward the south and north especially. In addition, heat island effect of Lantian District became more prominent, so it should be paid more attention to. We suggest that some measures like improving urban vegetation coverage, reasonably planing urban buildings, reducing the discharge of man-made heat, preventing and controlling atmospheric pollution should be adopted to control urban heat island effect of Xi＇an City effectively. [ Concision] The study could offer theoretical references for the control of urban heat island effect and the im- provement of ecological environment in Xi＇an City.

Research and Experience Reference on London’s Response to Climate Change in the Twenty-first Century

London’s approaches to tackling climate change after the 21st century are multifaceted and relatively systematic.The aim of this research paper is to analyse London’s actions in response to climate change and to draw out what valuable lessons London has for the world in terms of its response to climate change.This paper provides an in-depth analysis of London’s policies and actions on climate mitigation in the areas of“greenhouse gas emissions”and“energy infrastructure”,and climate adaptation actions in the areas of“city green belt and urban afforestation”,“UHI and thermal crisis management”and“water supply infrastructure and sustainable drainage”.It then examines the positive aspects of these actions to determine what London has to say about climate change to the rest of the world and other cities.This paper also discovers that to effectively mitigate and adapt to climate change,London has not only established carbon reduction targets,but also created a large academic research network,represented by the LCCP.At the same time,London has developed a scientific climate change adaptation planning framework(P2R2)that focuses on four key areas:Economic,environmental,health,and infrastructure sectors,and three types of risks:Flooding,heat,and water supply,and emphasizes the dynamics and flexibility of each adaptation strategy.

Urbanization affects plant flowering phenology and pollinator community:effects of water availability and land cover

Introduction:Climate change and urbanization have been shown to alter plant phenology.However,a mechanistic understanding of these changes in flowering phenology and associated pollinator communities is lacking.Thus,this study was designed to examine finer scale flowering phenological patterns and driving processes in an arid urban ecosystem.Specifically,we tested the effect of water availability and land cover type on the flowering phenology of brittlebush(Encelia farinosa)and investigated the arthropod pollinator community associated with brittlebush.Methods:The fieldwork was carried out as part of a larger community ecology experiment following a factorial nested design.We chose three land cover types,each of which had three replicates,resulting in a total of nine sites.For water availability manipulations,60 genetically different 5-gallon potted plants were placed on the ground within each site.Pan-trapping was used to collect potential pollinators.Results:Our results showed that water availability did not produce significant differences in flowering phenology.However,brittlebush planted in mesiscaped urban sites bloomed later,longer,and at a higher percentage than those planted in desert remnant sites and desert fringe sites.Furthermore,desert remnant sites were significantly lower in pollinator abundance than desert fringe sites.Pollinator richness varied over time in all land cover types.Conclusions:This study provides empirical evidence that land cover type,which is strongly correlated to temperature,is the primary cause for altered flowering phenology of brittlebush in the Phoenix area,although water availability may also be important.Moreover,land cover affects total abundance of bee pollinators.

Characterizing the Urban Temperature Trend Using Seasonal Unit Root Analysis:Hong Kong from 1970 to 2015

This paper explores urban temperature in Hong Kong using long-term time series. In particular, the characterization of the urban temperature trend was investigated using the seasonal unit root analysis of monthly mean air temperature data over the period January 1970 to December 2013. The seasonal unit root test makes it possible to determine the stochastic trend of monthly temperatures using an autoregressive model. The test results showed that mean air temperature has increased by 0.169~ C （10 yr） - 1 over the past four decades. The model of monthly temperature obtained from the seasonal unit root analysis was able to explain 95.9% of the variance in the measured monthly data -- much higher than the variance explained by the ordinary least-squares model using annual mean air temperature data and other studies alike. The model accurately predicted monthly mean air temperatures between January 2014 and December 2015 with a root-mean-square percentage error of 4.2%. The correlation between the predicted and the measured monthly mean air temperatures was 0.989. By analyzing the monthly air temperatures recorded at an urban site and a rural site, it was found that the urban heat island effect led to the urban site being on average 0.865~C warmer than the rural site over the past two decades. Besides, the results of correlation analysis showed that the increase in annual mean air temperature was significantly associated with the increase in population, gross domestic product, urban land use, and energy use, with the R2 values ranging from 0.37 to 0.43.

Three-Dimensional Urban Thermal Effect across a Large City Cluster during an Extreme Heat Wave:Observational Analysis

Given extensive and rapid urbanization globally,assessing regional urban thermal effects(UTE)in both canopy and boundary layers under extreme weather/climate conditions is of significant interest.Rapid population and economic growth in the Yangtze River Delta(YRD)have made it one of the largest city clusters in China.Here,we explore the three-dimensional(3D)UTE in the YRD using multi-source observations from high-resolution automatic weather stations,radiosondes,and eddy covariance sensors during the record-setting heat wave(HW)of July-August 2013.It is found that the regional canopy layer UTE is up to 0.6-1.2℃,and the nocturnal UTE(0.7-1.6℃)is larger than daytime UTE(0.2-0.5℃)during the HW.The regional canopy layer UTE is enhanced and expanded northwards,with some rural sites contaminated by the urban influences,especially at night.In the boundary layer,the strengthened regional UTE extends vertically to at least 925 hPa(~750 m)during this HW.The strengthened 3D UTE in the YRD is associated with an enlarged Bowen ratio difference between urban and non-urban areas.These findings about the 3D UTE are beneficial for better understanding of the thermal environment of large city clusters under HW and for more appropriate adaption and mitigation strategies.

Long-Term Changes in Summer Extreme Wet Bulb Globe Temperature over China

The wet bulb globe temperature(WBGT)has important implication for human health.Previous studies widely use the monthly data but rarely investigate the extreme WBGT because of data limitation.In this study,we use 6-h station data to analyze the changes in the WBGT and three categories(intensity,absolute threshold,and frequency indices)of extreme WBGT indices in summers of 1961-2017.It is found that the spatial distributions of long-term trends in summer mean WBGT are consistent with those in the mean temperature.The trend value of WBGT is smaller than the mean temperature,because of the decrease of relative humidity.For the extreme indices,the intensity and frequency of WBGT and fixed threshold indices have changed.The increase of intensity indices and warm WBGT days and nights,and decrease of cold WBGT days and nights have been observed in most China,especially over northwestern China.The number of days with daily maximum WBGT exceeding 31.4℃(WXge31)and minimum WBGT exceeding 27.9℃(WNge27)over southeastern China have increased since 1961.The spread of probability distributions of WXge31,WNge27,and warm WBGT days and nights is becoming wider,reflecting increased variability of extreme indices.In addition,urbanization effects on the WBGT are investigated.The impacts of urbanization on most of extreme WBGT indices are not detected,except for absolute thresholds indices.This may be due to the decrease of relative humidity in urban stations,which are almost two times larger than that in rural stations.However,we also note that the homogenization issue of humidity data may affect the conclusions.

交互联合上的国际进步和评估在都市化和 eco 环境之间完成

Global urbanization is exerting severe stress and having far-reaching impacts on the eco-environment, and yet there exists a complex non-linear coupling relationship between the two. Research on the interactive coupling effect between urbanization and the eco-environment will be a popular area of study and frontier in international earth system science and sustainability science in the next 10 years, while also being a high-priority research topic of particular interest to international organizations. This paper systematically collates and summarizes the international progress made in research on interactive coupling theory, coupling relationships, coupling mechanisms, coupling laws, coupling thresholds, coupling models and coupling optimization decision support systems. The research shows that urbanization and eco-environment interactive coupling theories include the Kuznets curve theory, telecoupling theory, planetary boundaries theory, footprint family theory and urban metabolism theory; most research on interactive coupling relationships is concerned with single- element coupling relationships, such as those between urbanization and water, land, atmosphere, climate change, ecosystems and biodiversity; the majority of research on interactive coupling mechanisms and laws focuses on five research paradigms, including coupled human and nature systems, complex social-ecological systems, urban ecosystems, social-economic-natural complex ecosystems, and urbanization development and eco-environment constraint ring; the majority of interactive coupling simulations use STIRPAT models, coupling degree models, multi-agent system models and big data urban computer models; and research has been carried out on urbanization and eco-environment coupling thresholds, coercing risk and optimal decision support systems. An objective evaluation of progress in international research on interactive coupling between urbanization and the eco-environment suggests that there are six main research focal points and six areas lacking research： a lot of research exists on macroscopic coupling effects, with little research on urban agglomeration and scale coupling effects; considerable research exists on sin-gle-dimension coupling effects, with little on multiple-dimension coupling effects; a great deal exists on ＂one-to-one＂ dual- element coupling effects, with little on ＂many-to-many＂ multiple-element coupling effects; a lot exists on positive feedback coupling effects, and little on negative feedback coupling effects; a great deal exists on empirical coupling effects, and little on theoretical coupling effects; a great deal exists on the use of simple quantitative methods, and little on using integrated simulation methods. Future studies should focus on coupling effects between urbanization in urban agglomerations and the eco-environment, spatial scale coupling effects, multi-dimensional coupling effects, telecoupling effects, ＂one-to-many＂ and ＂many-to-many＂ element coupling effects, and positive and negative feedback coupling effects. There is also a need to strengthen the development and application of dynamic models for multi-element,-scale,-scenario,-module and-agent integrated spatiotemporal coupling systems and further improve theoretical innovations in coupling effect research and integrate and form complete and diverse coupling theoretical systems.