Urbanization Aggravates Effects of Global Warming on Local Atmospheric Drying

Huang, Xiaolin; Hao, Lu; Sun, Ge; Yang, Zong‐Liang; Li, Wenhong; Chen, Dongxu

doi:10.1029/2021gl095709

Cited by 31 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…The increasing drying atmosphere in these subregions are also examined by Huang et al. (2022). VPD in parts of these urban areas exhibits an increasing trend higher than 0.4 hPa per decade, far exceeding the mean increasing rate of VPD (i.e., 0.144 hPa per decade) across China from 1971 to 2017.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The increasing temperature over urbanized areas has been extensively investigated (Hua et al, 2008;Jones et al, 2008;Luo & Lau, 2021;Sun et al, 2016). However, the changes in atmospheric aridity and possible UE have not been fully studied with few investigations focusing on the humidity deficit in urban areas and the UDI effect in a single city or few urban agglomerations (Huang et al, 2022;Langendijk et al, 2019Langendijk et al, , 2021Lin et al, 2020;Moriwaki et al, 2013). Atmospheric humidity plays an essential role in the hydrological cycle at global and local scales and is closely associated with human health by exerting excessive stress on the human body (Barreca & Shimshack, 2012;Bartková-Ščevková, 2003;Shekoofa et al, 2016).…”

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On average, VPD increases at a mean rate of 0.14 hPa per decade, and the stronger drying trends appear in BTH, PRD, Yangtze River Delta (YRD), and the Sichuan Basin (Figure 3), which have been experiencing rapid urbanization and increased population in recent decades. The increasing drying atmosphere in these subregions are also examined by Huang et al (2022). VPD in parts of these urban areas exhibits an increasing trend higher than 0.4 hPa per decade, far exceeding the mean increasing rate of VPD (i.e., 0.144 hPa per decade) across China from 1971 to 2017.…”

Section: Spatial and Temporal Changes Of Vpdmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…China has been experiencing fast economic growth and urbanization since the 1970s and has been suffering from frequent extreme weather and climate events, which are suggested to increase under the synergistic effects of global climate change and local urbanization (Du et al., 2019; Luo and Lau, 2017, 2018; Luo et al., 2022; Sun et al., 2016). Despite a significant expansion in urban areas in China over the past decades, the effects of urbanization and urban expansion on atmospheric aridity have not been thoroughly examined with few studies examining the urbanization effect in a single city or several urban areas (Huang et al., 2022; Lin et al., 2020). In this study, by analyzing the observations at more than 2,000 weather stations across China, we present a national investigation of the atmospheric aridity changes during 1971–2017 and quantify the substantial amplification by local urbanization and urban expansion in different regions across China.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Amplification Effect of Urbanization on Atmospheric Aridity Over China Under Past Global Warming

et al. 2022

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While it is well known that rapid urbanization poses prominent effects on regional or local temperature changes under global warming, possible impacts of urbanization on the changes in atmospheric aridity (measured by vapor pressure deficit [VPD]) are poorly understood. In this study, we provide a national investigation of the spatiotemporal changes of atmospheric aridity over China in recent decades by analyzing observations at over 2,000 weather stations across China during 1971–2017 and further quantify the effects of urbanization on the atmospheric aridity changes in different subregions. The results show that most parts of China have experienced a significant intensification of atmospheric aridity since the 1970s. Especially, stronger drying trends tend to appear in urban agglomerations with higher urbanization levels and denser population, such as Beijing‐Tianjin‐Hebei (BTH), the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), the Pearl River Delta (PRD), and the Sichuan Basin. It is estimated that urbanization contributed to more than 30% of the total increases in atmospheric aridity in urban core areas (i.e., 32.58%, 27.73%, 30.29%, 42.03%, and 37.33%, respectively, for annual, spring, summer, autumn, and winter VPD). Spatially, urbanization exerted significant amplification effects on increasing VPD in most parts of China (nearly 80% grid cells) except for few areas with higher elevation and complex topography (e.g., Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau and Xinjiang). In particular, the areas with higher urbanization (e.g., BTH, YRD, and PRD) underwent even stronger urbanization effects on amplifying atmospheric aridity. Our findings suggest that how to alleviate atmospheric aridity in future urban planning is worthy of consideration.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Spatial and Temporal Changes Of Vpdmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Amplification Effect of Urbanization on Atmospheric Aridity Over China Under Past Global Warming

et al. 2022

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“…The Penman-Monteith (P-M) equation is a standard model for estimating PET that is recommended by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) [10]. The P-M equation includes climate variables such as air temperature (T a ), net radiation (R n ) and wind speed (W s ) and is appropriate for humid conditions [7,[12][13][14]. The effects of different source parameters on PET have been investigated over different periods and in different regions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatiotemporal variation of potential evapotranspiration and its dominant factors during 1970−2020 across the Sichuan-Chongqing region, China

Zheng¹,

He²,

Qin

et al. 2022

PLoS ONE

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Analyzing the primary factors of potential evapotranspiration (PET) dynamic is fundamental to accurately estimating crop yield, evaluating environmental impacts, and understanding water and carbon cycles. Previous studies have focused on regionally average regional PET and its dominant factors. Spatial distributions of PET trends and their main causes have not been fully investigated. The Mann–Kendall test was used to determine the significance of long-term trends in PET and five meteorological factors (net radiation, wind speed, air temperature, vapor pressure deficit, relative humidity) at 56 meteorological stations in the Sichuan-Chongqing region from 1970 to 2020. Furthermore, this present study combining and quantitatively illustrated sensitivities and contributions of the meteorological factors to change in annual and seasonal PET. There was a positive trend in PET for approximately 58%, 68%, 38%, 73% and 73% of all surveyed stations at annual, spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively. Contribution analysis exhibited that the driving factors for the PET variation varied spatially and seasonally. For stations with an upward PET trend, vapor pressure deficit was a dominant factor at all time scales. For stations with a downward PET trend, annual changes in PET mainly resulted from decreased wind speed, as did changes in spring, autumn and winter; decreasing net radiation was the dominant factor in summer. The positive effect of the vapor pressure deficit offset the negative effects of wind speed and net radiation, leading to the increasing PET in this area as a whole. Sensitivity analysis showed that net radiation and relative humidity were the two most sensitive variables for PET, followed by vapor pressure deficit in this study area. Results from the two mathematical approaches were not perfect match, because the change magnitude of the meteorological factors is also responsible for the effects of meteorological factors on PET variation to some extent. However, conducting sensitivity and contribution analysis in this study can avoid the uncertainties from using a single method and provides detailed and well-understood information for interpreting the influence of global climate change on the water cycle and improving local water management.

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Local drying climate magnified by urbanization in West Africa

Igun

Sanganyado

Igben

2023

Intl Journal of Climatology

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Urbanization often increases surface runoff and land surface temperature due to loss of land cover. However, the effect of urbanization on local atmospheric humidity remains understudied despite the disastrous effects it can have on human health and water‐food‐energy‐ecosystem nexus. Here, we examined changes in atmospheric humidity in the West Africa (WA) region between 1985 and 2018. There was an increase in vapour pressure and decrease in atmospheric humidity in urban areas suggesting intensified urban drying island (UDI) effects. Rapid urban expansion has aggravated UDI effect in recent years, particularly during the hot, wet summer but mild during the cold, and dry winter. In future climate, the impacts of the UDI effect in the region may be enormous considering the increasing rate of urbanization in the region. To achieve a sustainable future, city planners and policymakers should consider the UDI effect by promoting developments that increase green land cover. Overall, this study provides a detailed understanding of the urban ecosystem's environmental change, which is helpful for local climate change adaptation and mitigation.

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Urbanization Aggravates Effects of Global Warming on Local Atmospheric Drying

Cited by 31 publications

References 77 publications

Amplification Effect of Urbanization on Atmospheric Aridity Over China Under Past Global Warming

Amplification Effect of Urbanization on Atmospheric Aridity Over China Under Past Global Warming

Spatiotemporal variation of potential evapotranspiration and its dominant factors during 1970−2020 across the Sichuan-Chongqing region, China

Local drying climate magnified by urbanization in West Africa

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