Spatial and Temporal Variation Characteristics of Heatwaves in Recent Decades over China

Jinping Liu,Yanqun Ren,Masoud Jafari Shalamzari,Hui Tao

doi:10.3390/rs13193824

Abstract

Global warming and rapid socioeconomic development increased the risk of regional and global disasters. Particularly in China, annual heatwaves (HWs) caused many fatalities and substantial property damage, with an increasing trend. Therefore, it is of great scientific value and practical importance to analyze the spatiotemporal changes of HW in China for the sustainable development of regional socioeconomic and disaster risk management. In this study, based on gridded maximum temperature product and specific humidity dataset, an HW evaluation algorithm, considering the impact of humidity on the human body and the characteristics of HW in China, was employed to generate daily HW state at light, moderate, and severe levels for the period 1979–2018. Consequently, the regional differences at three HW levels were revealed, and the changing trend of HW onset, termination, and duration in each subregion was analyzed. The results show that in the three levels, the frequency and duration of HW in China had a significant increasing trend, generally characterized by the advancement of HW onset and the postponement of HW termination. The HW influence at light, moderate and severe levels decreased gradually, with the light level occurring the earliest and terminating the latest. Among the seven subregions, the largest HW frequency happened to be mainly in XJ (Xinjiang), SC (Southern China), and NC (Northern China), while the variations of HW onset and termination had noticeable regional differences at the three levels. The findings presented in this study can provide the essential scientific and technological support for national and regional disaster prevention mitigation and adaptation to extreme climate events.

Highlights

IntroductionIn the context of global warming, the socioeconomics of China faces four severe challenges, the most severe of which being the intense, extreme high-temperature events with an increasing trend [1,2]
We evaluated the spatial changes in high-temperature days (HTD) and found that overall, the interannual variability of HTDs in the north and south has great differences, which are probably caused by the change of atmospheric circulation [45]
We investigated heatwave frequency to better illustrate the difference between heatwaves and HTDs

Summary

Introduction

In the context of global warming, the socioeconomics of China faces four severe challenges, the most severe of which being the intense, extreme high-temperature events with an increasing trend [1,2]. It is generally believed that heatwave (HW) is caused by continuous high temperatures, a weather disaster in which people, animals, and plants cannot adapt to the environmental conditions [3,4]. The HW poses a severe threat to human survival, socioeconomic development, water resources, and the environment [9,10,11,12,13]. In view of the severe impact of HW events, much attention from researchers and the public community was focused on related disciplines in recent decades [14,15,16]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion