Urban heat islands in China enhanced by haze pollution

Chang Cao, Xuhui Lee (), Shoudong Liu, Natalie Schultz, Wei Xiao, Mi Zhang and Lei Zhao
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Chang Cao: Yale-NUIST Center on Atmospheric Environment and Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology
Xuhui Lee: Yale-NUIST Center on Atmospheric Environment and Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology
Shoudong Liu: Yale-NUIST Center on Atmospheric Environment and Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology
Natalie Schultz: School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University
Wei Xiao: Yale-NUIST Center on Atmospheric Environment and Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology
Mi Zhang: Yale-NUIST Center on Atmospheric Environment and Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology
Lei Zhao: Yale-NUIST Center on Atmospheric Environment and Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract The urban heat island (UHI), the phenomenon of higher temperatures in urban land than the surrounding rural land, is commonly attributed to changes in biophysical properties of the land surface associated with urbanization. Here we provide evidence for a long-held hypothesis that the biogeochemical effect of urban aerosol or haze pollution is also a contributor to the UHI. Our results are based on satellite observations and urban climate model calculations. We find that a significant factor controlling the nighttime surface UHI across China is the urban–rural difference in the haze pollution level. The average haze contribution to the nighttime surface UHI is 0.7±0.3 K (mean±1 s.e.) for semi-arid cities, which is stronger than that in the humid climate due to a stronger longwave radiative forcing of coarser aerosols. Mitigation of haze pollution therefore provides a co-benefit of reducing heat stress on urban residents.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12509

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