Historic evolution of population exposure to heatwaves in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China

Abstract

Heatwaves have pronounced impacts on human health and the environment on a global scale. Although the characteristics of heatwaves has been well documented, there still remains a lack of dynamic studies of population exposure to heatwaves (PEH), particularly in the arid regions. In this study, we analyzed the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics of heatwaves and PEH in Xinjiang using the daily maximum temperature (Tmax), relative humidity (RH), and high-resolution gridded population datasets. The results revealed that the heatwaves in Xinjiang occur more continually and intensely from 1961 to 2020. Furthermore, there is substantial spatial heterogeneity of heatwaves with eastern part of the Tarim Basin, Turpan, and Hami been the most prone areas. The PEH in Xinjiang showed an increasing trend with high areas mainly in Kashgar, Aksu, Turpan, and Hotan. The increase in PEH is mainly contributed from population growth, climate change and their interaction. From 2001 to 2020, the climate effect contribution decreased by 8.5%, the contribution rate of population and interaction effects increased by 3.3% and 5.2%, respectively. This work provides a scientific basis for the development of policies to improve the resilience against hazards in arid regions.

Spatiotemporal variation of land surface temperature and its driving factors in Xinjiang, China

“…The annual average LST in 2007, 2013, and 2015 exceeded 10.00℃ in Xinjiang, with the highest value in 2013 (10.26℃) caused by atmospheric circulation anomalies, which resulted in hot events with broad coverage, high intensity, and long duration (Liu et al, 2021). In addition, the subtropical high in 2013 was significantly stronger than that during the same period, which led to the Tuha Basin as the most significant area affected by high-temperature heat (Dong et al, 2022), where the highest annual average LST was 19.53℃ in 2013. The lowest annual average LST of Xinjiang occurred in 2012 (8.53℃) and this was primarily because of the abnormally cold winter and the long cumulative duration of shallow temperature events in Xinjiang (Chen et al, 2022b).…”

Projected population exposure to heatwaves in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, China

“…As the important part of the Central Asia arid zone, Xinjiang’s fragile ecosystem and agriculture-based economy make it particularly sensitive to climate change 33 . Over the past few decades, frequent heatwaves have occurred in most regions of Xinjiang 34 . In the summer of 2015, Xinjiang suffered an unprecedented heatwave.…”