Remote Sensing (Aug 2022)

Spatiotemporal Evolution of Urban Rain Islands in China under the Conditions of Urbanization and Climate Change

  • Zhuoran Luo,
  • Jiahong Liu,
  • Shanghong Zhang,
  • Weiwei Shao,
  • Jinjun Zhou,
  • Li Zhang,
  • Ruitao Jia

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14174159
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 17
p. 4159

Abstract

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Precipitation is a critical factor affecting regional water cycles, water ecology, and socioeconomic development. Monthly precipitation, water vapor pressure, and temperature datasets from 613 meteorological stations across China were used to analyze the spatiotemporal evolution of urban rain island effects at the national scale during periods of slow (1960–1969) and accelerated (2010–2019) urbanization. The combined effects of artificial water dissipation and heat islands on urban precipitation were a key focus of this study. The results showed that rain island effects (0–31.6 mm/month) were primarily distributed along the southeast coast (dominated by the heat island effect) and northwest inland region (dominated by artificial water dissipation). During winter, the relative contribution of artificial water dissipation was higher in urban areas, and the rain island effect was more apparent than in the summer. Comparisons of precipitation prior to and following large-scale urbanization showed that precipitation and rain island intensity along the southeast coast and northwest inland region increased by 0–28 and 0–28.6 mm/month, respectively. These findings indicate that artificial water dissipation is an important water vapor source for urban precipitation, particularly during winter months.

Keywords