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Effects of urbanization on extreme warmest night temperatures during summer near Bohai

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Abstract

Many previous studies have focused on the impacts of urbanization on regional mean temperatures. Relatively few have analyzed changes in extreme temperatures. Here, we examine the impact of urbanization on extreme warmest night temperatures from 33 stations in the Bohai area between 1958 and 2009. We compute the Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distribution of extreme warmest night temperatures and analyze long-term variations in its characteristic parameters. A new classification method based on the factor analysis of changes in extreme night temperatures is developed to detect the effects of urbanization in different cities. Of the three parameters that characterize the GEV distribution, the position parameter is the most representative of long-term changes in extreme warmest night temperatures. During the period of rapid urbanization (i.e., after 1978), all three parameters of the GEV distribution are larger for the urban station group than for the reference station group, so are the magnitudes of their variations, and the urban areas have been experiencing higher extreme warmest night temperatures with larger variability. Different types of cities in the Bohai area have all experienced an urban heat island effect, with an average urbanization effect of approximately 0.3°C per decade.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Meteorological Information Center, Beijing, 100081, China

    Qingxiang Li  (李庆祥)

  2. Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100872, China

    Jiayou Huang  (黄嘉佑)

Authors
  1. Qingxiang Li  (李庆祥)
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  2. Jiayou Huang  (黄嘉佑)
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Correspondence to Qingxiang Li  (李庆祥).

Additional information

Supported by the National Basic Research and Development (973) Program of China (2010CB951600), National Science and Technology Support Program of China (2012BAC22B05), National Natural Science Foundation of China (40605021), and China Meteorological Administration Special Fund for Climate Change (CCSF201224).

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Li, Q., Huang, J. Effects of urbanization on extreme warmest night temperatures during summer near Bohai. Acta Meteorol Sin 27, 808–818 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-013-0602-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-013-0602-0

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