Effect of wind speed on sunshine hours in three cities in northern China

Abstract

CR Climate Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials CR 39:149-157 (2009) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/cr00820 Effect of wind speed on sunshine hours in three cities in northern China Yonghui Yang1,*, Na Zhao1,2,**, Yukun Hu3, Xinyao Zhou1,2 1Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Hebei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water-Saving, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 286 Huaizhong Rd., Shijiazhuang 050021, PR China 2Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 10049, PR China 3Hebei Provincial Academy of Water Resources, Shijiazhuang 050051, PR China *Email: yonghui.yang@sjziam.ac.cn**Email: zhaona@sjziam.ac.cn ABSTRACT: There has been a drastic decline in sunshine hours in North China since the 1960s. Increased aerosol emissions driven by air pollution have been identified as the cause of sunshine decline in the region. The present study investigates the possible impact of wind speed on the extent of decline in sunshine hours in Shijiazhuang, Beijing and Tianjin (3 major cities in North China) during the period from 1960–2008. Among these cities, the smallest (largest) decline in sunshine hours was in the city with the highest (lowest) wind speed: Beijing (Shijiazhuang). Annual and monthly average daily sunshine hours for 1960–1969 (a period with low anthropogenic pollution and slow socioeconomic development) and 1999–2008 (a period with high anthropogenic pollution and rapid socioeconomic development) are compared with respect to low and high wind speeds. Extent of sunshine hours showed a positive correlation with wind speed. Analysis of the API (air pollution index) from 2000–2008 shows a discernible effect of wind speed on atmospheric pollution. Thus, we conclude that the decline in sunshine hours in the region is heavily influenced by wind speed. Low dispersion of air pollutants and their aerosol derivatives under low wind speed are likely the cause of the decline in sunshine hours. KEY WORDS: Decline in sunshine hours · Wind speed · Air pollution · Aerosol Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Yang Y, Zhao N, Hu Y, Zhou X (2009) Effect of wind speed on sunshine hours in three cities in northern China. Clim Res 39:149-157. https://doi.org/10.3354/cr00820Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in CR Vol. 39, No. 2. Online publication date: July 28, 2009 Print ISSN: 0936-577X; Online ISSN: 1616-1572 Copyright © 2009 Inter-Research.