Analysis of temperature variation characteristics in the three gorges reservoir area after impoundment of the three gorges dam

Abstract

The construction of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) at the end of the upper reach of the Yangtze River results in a great belt-shape of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) in China. Thus the atmospheric problems related to the TGR have attracted substantial interest from most meteorologists around the world. To understand the regional temperature changes in the TGR area since the impoundment of the TGD in June 2003, temperature data from 32 meteorological stations in the TGR area during 1961—2014 period were collected, and the trends in the temperature changes in the past 20 years, including years before and after impoundment of the TGD, were analysed by the methods of cumulative anomaly analysis, moving average, and linear regression analysis. The results showed that the annual mean temperature over the TGR area showed a slight overall upward trend in the past 54 years, and the temperature rose substantially at the period between 1985 and 2014. After impoundment, a warming trend was obvious in the TGR area. The monthly mean temperature after impoundment was higher than that before impoundment.