Quantifying the Contribution of Urbanization to Summer Extreme High-Temperature Events in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Urban Agglomeration

Abstract

Abstract Determining the contribution of urbanization to extreme high-temperature events is essential to the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei (BTH). Based on the dynamic data of land-use change in every 5 years, this study uses the coupled WRF–Building Effect Parameterization/Building Energy Model (BEP/BEM) at 1-km grid spacing to quantify the contribution of BTH urbanization to the intensity and frequency of hourly extreme high-temperature events in summer. From 1990 to 2015, extreme events over Beijing and its south increased by ∼1.5°–2°C in intensity and by 50–100 h in frequency, both of which were even higher in central Beijing and Shijiazhuang. The increases of multiyear average urbanization contribution ratios to the intensity and frequency reached 3.3% and 51.6% at the 99% confidence level (p < 0.01) from 1990 to 2015, respectively. The corresponding contributions increased 1.8 and 1.2 times more significantly in the megacities (i.e., Beijing, Tianjin, and Shijiazhuang) than small and medium-sized cities. Therefore, the rapid urbanization has substantially enhanced the extreme high-temperature events in BTH. It is necessary to limit the urbanization growth rate and implement effective adaptation and mitigation strategies to sustain BTH development.