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Influence of Urbanization-Related Radical Land Modification on Urban Extreme Climate

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A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land–Climate Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2023) | Viewed by 14798

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Prof. Dr. Guoyu Ren

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Guest Editor

1. Department of Atmospheric Sciences, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
2. National Climate Center, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: monitoring and detection of climate change; extreme climate change; observation; urban climate change; climatology
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Prof. Dr. Yali Luo

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Co-Guest Editor

School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology (NUIST), Nanjing 210044, China
Interests: severe weather, in particular extreme rainfall and intense convection; field experiments; numerical weather prediction
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The influences of urbanization on extremely high temperatures and short-duration intense precipitation have recently attracted a growing number of studies, especially from the rapidly developing regions of the world. However, there are still many scientific questions that need to be answered. For example, it is necessary to determine whether or not there is a clear-cut urban signal in the sense of climatological means and long-term trends when considering extreme temperatures and intense precipitation. If there is, what are the spatial and temporal patterns of the effects of urbanization, and what are the major drivers and mechanisms of the changes in climate extremes? What is the significance of extreme changes in the climate at urban meteorological stations in large-scale climate change studies and for adapting to climate change in cities?

To address the issues raised above, observational data from densely distributed and/or meteorological stations that have been maintained in the long term that are located in or near cities and high-resolution numerical models are of great value. Moreover, large-scale land use and cover changes (such as those observed on the North China Plain and the Indo-Gangetic Plain) may also have an influence on extreme climate events, although the observation-based evidence is less sufficient compared to the more localized effect of urbanization.

We are currently working toward a Special Issue of Land (Section: Land– Climate Interaction) covering research studies undertaken in the area of the influences on urbanization on extreme climate events. Extreme climate events include but are not limited to high and low temperatures, intense precipitation, high winds, and hail in urban and suburban areas. The effects of urbanization are not confined to the spatial patterns of extreme climate events in urban areas or in the surrounding rural areas. They also include the temporal changes in historical observation data series at urban sites, including at the meteorological stations that are commonly used in the monitoring and study of climate change.

We welcome manuscripts from a range of disciplines (including atmospheric sciences, urban climatology, geography, hydrology, urban science, climate change science, boundary meteorology, and remote sensing) that use a variety of methods and approaches. Interdisciplinary papers, review articles, and studies conducted in rapidly developing countries and regions are particularly encouraged.

Prof. Dr. Guoyu Ren
Prof. Dr. Yali Luo
Guest Editors

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Keywords

land use
land cover
LULC change
urbanization effect
urban area
extreme climate
climate change
observation
simulation

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Related Special Issue

Influence of Urbanization-Related Radical Land Modification on Urban Extreme Climate: 2nd Edition in Land

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Research

23 pages, 8399 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impacts of Urbanization and Its Parameters on Thermal and Dynamic Fields in Hangzhou: A Sensitivity Study Using the Weather Research and Forecasting Urban Model

by Mengwen Wu, Meiying Dong, Feng Chen and Xuchao Yang

Land 2023, 12(11), 1965; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12111965 - 24 Oct 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1149

Abstract

The impact of urbanization and the sensitivity of urban canopy parameters (UCPs) on a typical summer rainfall event in Hangzhou, China, is investigated using three groups of ensemble experiments. In this case, urbanization leads to higher temperatures, lower mixing ratios, lower wind speeds before precipitation, and more precipitation in and around the urban area. Both the thermal and dynamical effects of urbanization contribute to an increase in temperature and precipitation, with thermal effects contributing 71.2% and 63.8% to the temperature and precipitation increase, respectively, while the thermal and dynamical impacts cause the opposite changes to the mixing ratio and wind speed. Compared to the other three meteorological elements, the model has the largest uncertainty in the simulation of precipitation, which includes the sensitivity of the different parameterization schemes to the simulation of precipitation in urban areas, and the uncertainty brought by the urban effect on precipitation is not confined within the city but extends to the surrounding areas as well. Temperature and mixing ratio are more sensitive to thermal-related UCPs, while the wind speed is mainly affected by the structural parameters. These variations, however, are sometimes contradictory to precipitation changes, which further adds to the complexity of precipitation simulation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Influence of Urbanization-Related Radical Land Modification on Urban Extreme Climate)

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16 pages, 4992 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Urbanization-Induced Diurnal Variation in Short-Duration Rainfall Events in Wuhan, China

by Yanlin Mao, Guoyu Ren and Suonam Kealdrup Tysa

Land 2023, 12(7), 1343; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12071343 - 4 Jul 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1276

Abstract

Increasing of evidence suggests that rapid urbanization modifies precipitation and increases atmospheric instability in urban areas mainly due to urban heat island (UHI)-induced thermal effects and urban building-induced dynamic effects. However, few studies focus on the impact of urbanization on the diurnal variations in urban rainfall in terms of initiating time, frequency, amount, and intensity. Here, six years of hourly data from a relatively dense meteorological observation network in the Wuhan area in central China are used to quantify the issue of urbanization-induced diurnal variations in hourly rainfall and short-duration rainfall (SDR) events by comparing urban and surrounding rural stations during the summer dry period (13 July to 4 August), corresponding to hot weather with little rainfall and high evaporation. The results indicate that: (i) A higher frequency of hourly rainfall appears during night-time and afternoon over urban areas as compared to rural areas. The urban rainfall is more concentrated during the night-time; (ii) More and stronger urban SDR events are triggered during the night-time over urban areas, especially in terms of amount and intensity of rainfall events. A greater diurnal urban–rural difference in SDR events is detected than that in hourly mean rainfall; (iii) There is an enhancement in the night-time and afternoon urban SDR events when UHI intensity increases before they are initiated, and this is detectable in the frequency, amount, and intensity of SDR events. It is also found that the UHI-induced thermal effects are the main reason for the stronger nocturnal SDR events in Wuhan during the summer dry period, which is caused by increases in the convection current and water vapor flux convergence in the urban areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Influence of Urbanization-Related Radical Land Modification on Urban Extreme Climate)

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14 pages, 2754 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Combined Modification of Urbanization and Monsoon in Meiyu Precipitation Changes in the Megacity Shanghai, China

by Ping Liang, Zhiqi Zhang, Wenjuan Huang, Qingfeng Zheng and Yue Ma

Land 2023, 12(6), 1216; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12061216 - 12 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1400

Abstract

The Meiyu season is a typical rainy season in East Asia that is controlled by summer monsoon. Despite extensive research on its impact, it is unclear how urbanization modifies precipitation during the Meiyu season in the background of the monsoon influence. To address this gap, this study investigated the effects of urbanization and monsoon on the modification of precipitation during the Meiyu season (PDM) in the megacity of Shanghai, China. Through homogenization analysis of the original observational data, we assessed the temporal and spatial variation in PDM in Shanghai during two stages of urbanization. Our findings revealed that both total precipitation and extreme daily precipitation during the Meiyu season in Shanghai have significantly increased since 1961. The spatial heterogeneity of PDM has also enhanced during the rapid urban process that has occurred since 1986. The long-term trend of increasing precipitation in Shanghai showed a synchronous variation with the East Asian subtropical summer monsoon (EASM) in 1961–2021. Over the interannual time scale, the significant positive correlation between PDM and EASM during the slow urbanization period (Stage 1: 1961–1985) changed to a non-significant correlation during the rapid urbanization period (Stage 2: 1986–2021), which was associated with the enhanced convective precipitation in Shanghai during the Meiyu season. Urbanization induced more convective precipitation and further weakened the association between PDM and EASM over the central city and nearby areas during Stage 2. The rapid urbanization process also resulted in increased differences in near-surface wind between urban and non-urban areas, which facilitated more PDM over the central city due to the urban friction effect and wind shear in Stage 2. Furthermore, our analysis suggests that the increase in precipitation may be associated with the enhanced coupling of cold air intrusion with the warmer climate background due to the urban heat effect occurring in Stage 2. These findings contribute to a better understanding of how urbanization and monsoons affect PDM in East Asian megacities and serve as a unique reference for climate prediction in this region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Influence of Urbanization-Related Radical Land Modification on Urban Extreme Climate)

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15 pages, 4676 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Long-Term Variations in Warm and Cold Events in Nanjing, China: Roles of Synoptic Weather Patterns and Urbanization

by Weishou Tian, Lian Zong, Yakun Dong, Duanyang Liu and Yuanjian Yang

Land 2023, 12(1), 162; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12010162 - 3 Jan 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2353

Abstract

Studying the long-term variations in warm and cold events and their causes under global warming is important for understanding urban climate change, planning, and green development, as well as for disaster prevention and mitigation. In this study, taking the megacity of Nanjing in China as an example, we analyzed the trends and characteristics of the daily average temperature, daily maximum temperature, daily minimum temperature, and warm and cold events from 1960 to 2021, and their association with synoptic weather patterns (SWPs) and urbanization. The results showed that, over the past 62 years, the maximum/average/minimum temperatures in Nanjing have trended upward significantly (at the urban station they increased at rates of 0.17, 0.34, and 0.67 °C/decade), with the minimum temperatures being the most significant. In spring, the warming rate of the average temperature was the greatest, reaching 0.45 °C/decade. All other seasons had their highest warming rate in their minimum temperatures, reaching 0.38 °C/decade, 0.73 °C/decade, and 0.67 °C/decade in the summer, autumn, and winter, respectively. The extreme high temperatures showed a decreasing trend until the mid-1980s, closely related to the decrease in the two SWPs with prevailing southwesterly winds (Types 1 and 2), while a significant increasing trend was apparent thereafter, mainly related to the increase in the SWPs with prevailing southeasterly winds (Types 3 and 4). The number of warm days was strongly positively correlated with extreme high temperatures during the study period, and about 91% of the warm day interannual variation can be explained by extreme high temperature variation. The extreme low temperatures showed a significant decreasing trend. The number of cold nights was strongly and positively correlated with extreme low temperatures, and about 85% of the cold night interannual variation can be explained by extreme low temperature variation. The effect of urbanization was basically positive, contributing the most to the average temperatures and second-most to the minimum temperatures, with warming contributions of 26.5% and 20.9%, respectively, and an insignificant contribution to the maximum temperatures. The effect of urbanization on extreme high temperatures was not significant, but the contribution of warming to extreme low temperatures reached 27.9%. Our results have important implications for future urban climate prediction, as well as for impact assessment and decision making in urban planning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Influence of Urbanization-Related Radical Land Modification on Urban Extreme Climate)

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18 pages, 4487 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Comparative Analysis of Characteristics and Synoptic Backgrounds of Extreme Heat Events over Two Urban Agglomerations in Southeast China

by Xiaoyan Sun, Xiaoyu Gao, Yali Luo, Wai-Kin Wong and Haiming Xu

Land 2022, 11(12), 2235; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11122235 - 8 Dec 2022

Viewed by 1984

Abstract

Based on high-resolution surface observation and reanalysis data, this paper analyzes the extreme heat events (EHEs) over two densely populated urban agglomerations in southeast China, namely the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and the Pearl River Delta (PRD), including the spatial–temporal distribution of heatwaves and warm nights and the synoptic backgrounds for regional heatwaves. The results show that the occurrence frequency of EHEs is modulated significantly by local underlying features (i.e., land–sea contrast, terrain), and the strong nocturnal urban heat island effects make warm nights much more likely to occur in cities than rural areas during heatwaves. About 80% of the YRD regional heatwaves occur from 15 July to 15 August, while a lower fraction (53%) of the PRD heatwaves is found during this mid-summer period, which partially explains the warm-season average intensity of the former being 2–3 times the latter. A persistent, profound subtropical high is the dominant synoptic system responsible for the mid-summer YRD heatwaves, which forces significant descending motion leading to long-duration sunny weather. The mid-summer PRD heatwaves involve both high-pressure systems and tropical cyclones (TCs). A TC is present to the east of the PRD region on most (about 72%) PRD heatwave days. The organized northerly winds in the planetary boundary layer in the outer circulation of the TC transport the inland warm air, which is heated by the foehn effect at the lee side of the Nanling Mountains and possibly also the surface sensible heat flux, towards the PRD region, leading to the occurrence of the extremely high temperatures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Influence of Urbanization-Related Radical Land Modification on Urban Extreme Climate)

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13 pages, 2347 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing the Spatial Variability of Daytime/Nighttime Extreme Heat Waves in Beijing under Different Land-Use during 2011–2020

by Xiaokang Su, Fang Wang, Demin Zhou and Hongwen Zhang

Land 2022, 11(10), 1786; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11101786 - 13 Oct 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1636

Abstract

Urban land-use affects surface air temperature; however, the impact of urban land-use on surface air temperature, particularly the extent to which it affects the duration of extreme heat waves, remains uncertain and the mechanisms of diurnal differences need to be further explored. This paper presents study of daytime/nighttime extreme heat waves duration in Beijing under different land-use changes by adopting an index of cumulative hours of extreme heat waves exceeding the certain thresholds. The urban day/night extreme heat waves cumulative hourly interpolation models were established based on high-resolution urban land-use and socioeconomic data and were assessed to have good performance. The annual average cumulative hours of extreme heat waves increased by 95% (daytime) and 116% (nighttime) in 2016–2020 compared to 2011–2015. The cumulative hours for each land-use type ranked as follows: urban land > cropland > water > grassland > woodland. We found that the cumulative hours of extreme heat waves increased significantly with the proportion of urban land and decreased significantly with the proportion of forested land and water. This research provided important information for alleviating extreme heat waves in cities and for rational land planning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Influence of Urbanization-Related Radical Land Modification on Urban Extreme Climate)

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17 pages, 4482 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Urbanization on Spatio-Temporal Characteristics of Extreme Hourly Precipitation in Shenyang

by Xue Ao, Qingfei Zhai, Chunyu Zhao, Yan Cui, Xiaoyu Zhou, Jingwei Li and Mingqian Li

Land 2022, 11(9), 1487; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11091487 - 5 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1584

Abstract

Understanding changes in extreme hourly precipitation is critical to urban planners for building more sustainable and resilient cities. In this study, we use satellite nighttime light data, urban land area data, population, and economic data to objectively classify urban and rural stations. Based on the hourly precipitation data from national meteorological stations in 1974–2020 and from regional automatic weather stations in 2005–2020 in Shenyang (China), the spatio-temporal distribution characteristics of the thresholds, maximums, intensities, and frequencies of extreme hourly precipitation (ExHP) in urban and rural areas are analyzed and compared. The results show that the large-value centers of ExHP thresholds, maximums, and intensities are mainly concentrated in urban areas. Both the frequency and intensity of ExHP at urban stations are obviously larger than those at rural stations, and the peaks mainly appear at night for stations of both two types. From 1974 to 2020, the average frequency and intensity of ExHP at urban stations both show increasing trends, with the increasing rate being much higher than those at rural stations. In terms of temporal variation, precipitation events of the abrupt type are the most frequent, accounting for 48.6% of the total, followed by the growing type (42.7%) and continuous type (8.7%). ExHP events of the abrupt type are mostly concentrated in Kangping County and Faku County of Northern Shenyang, but rarely occur in Xinmin City. ExHP events of the growing type are mainly found in Xinmin City and the municipal district of Shenyang. For urban stations, the ExHP frequency decreases in the early stage of urbanization, while increasing evidently during the rapid urbanization stage. However, the situation is just the opposite for rural stations. This indicates that the rapid urbanization in Shenyang has a certain impact on the increase in ExHP. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Influence of Urbanization-Related Radical Land Modification on Urban Extreme Climate)

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16 pages, 11352 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Urbanization on Extreme Climate Indices in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China

by Wentao Yang, Yining Yan, Zhibin Lin, Yijiang Zhao, Chaokui Li, Xinchang Zhang and Liang Shan

Land 2022, 11(9), 1379; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11091379 - 23 Aug 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1737

Abstract

Urbanization has been proven to be a critical factor in modifying local or regional climate characteristics. This research aims to examine the impact of urbanization on extreme climate indices in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB), China, by using meteorological observation data from 2000 to 2019. Three main steps are involved. First, a clustered threshold method based on remote-sensing nighttime light data is used to extract urban built-up areas, and urban and rural meteorological stations can be identified based on the boundary of urban built-up areas. Nonparametric statistical tests, namely, the Mann–Kendall test and Sen’s slope, are then applied to measure the trend characteristics of extreme climate indices. Finally, the urbanization contribution rate is employed to quantify the impact of urbanization on extreme climate indices. The results indicate that urbanization has a more serious impact on extreme temperature indices than on extreme precipitation indices in the YREB. For extreme temperature indices, urbanization generally causes more (less) frequent occurrence of warm (cold) events. The impact of urbanization on different extreme temperature indices has heterogeneous characteristics, including the difference in contamination levels and spatial variation of the impacted cities. For extreme precipitation indices, only a few cities impacted by urbanization are detected, but among these cities, urbanization contributes to increasing the trend of all indices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Influence of Urbanization-Related Radical Land Modification on Urban Extreme Climate)

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