Increase In Shortwave Radiation Research Articles

Enhancement of the Vegetation Carbon Uptake by the Synergistic Approach to Air Pollution Control and Carbon Neutrality in China

Carbon sinks provided by land ecosystems play a crucial role in achieving carbon neutrality. However, the future potential of carbon sequestration remains highly uncertain. The impact of pollutant emission reduction (PER) introduced by the proposed synergistic approach to air pollution control and carbon neutrality on carbon sinks in China has not yet been fully evaluated. In this study, we analyzed the effects of regional carbon-neutral PER policies, global climate change, and their coupled effects on China’s terrestrial gross primary productivity (GPP) by conducting numerical experiments using the weather research and forecasting model coupled with chemistry (WRF-Chem) and the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer photosynthesis algorithm (MODIS-PSN). We found that carbon-neutral PER policies could promote GPP growth in most regions of China in 2060, particularly during April and October, resulting in a total increase of at least 21.84 TgC compared to that in 2016, which offset the adverse effects of global climate change up to fourfold. The aerosol radiative effects drive GPP growth under carbon-neutral PER policies, primarily through an increase in daily minimum temperature during winter and an increase in shortwave radiation during other seasons. Our research highlights that reducing pollutant emissions enhances future potential for carbon sequestration, revealing positive feedback towards achieving the target of carbon neutrality.

Summer compound heatwaves over China: projected changes at different global warming levels and related physical processes

AbstractBased on the multi-model ensemble mean of CMIP6 simulations, the future changes in frequency, intensity and duration of Compound (both daytime and nighttime) heatwaves (HWs) in summer over China at various global warming levels (GWLs) under the SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5 are assessed. HWs over China become more frequent and hotter, and the duration of HWs becomes longer compared to those in the recent climate. The magnitudes of these changes are primarily dependent on GWLs, but they are not very sensitive to the scenarios. At 4 ℃ GWL, the frequency of HWs increases by more than fivefold under both scenarios, and the intensity (duration) of HWs averaged under the two scenarios is 2.28 ℃ hotter (3.59 days longer) than the one in the recent climate over the entire China. Meanwhile, the maximum duration of HW events can reach more than 25 days in summer in comparison with 8 days in the recent climate. The changes in HW properties are regionally dependent at the four GWLs. For example, the largest increase in HW frequency is over the Northwest China, the largest increase in intensity in HWs is seen over the Northeast and Northwest, and the largest increase in HW duration is over the Southwest China. The extreme rare events (50-year and 100-year events) in the recent climate would become the norm over China and four sub-regions at 4 ℃ GWL. Overall, seasonal mean warming dominates the changes in HW properties over China at the different GWLs. The seasonal mean warming in summer across China is related to the increases of longwave radiation, partly due to increase in greenhouse gas forcing and partly resulted from increased water vapor and the increase of shortwave radiation (under the SSP5-8.5) over eastern China related to decreases in aerosols and total cloud cover. Furthermore, the regional variations in the water vapor over China are consistent with atmospheric circulation changes. The seasonal mean surface warming results in enhanced upward sensible and latent heat fluxes, leading to increased summer mean daily maximum and minimum of near-surface air temperature and the enhancement of HWs properties over the entire China. Changes of shortwave radiation tend to play a weaker role for surface warming under the SSP3-7.0 than those under the SSP5-8.5, which is related to increased aerosol changes under the SSP3-7.0.

An Earlier Spring Phenology Reduces Vegetation Growth Rate during the Green-Up Period in Temperate Forests

Climatic warming advances the start of the growing season (SOS) and sequentially enhances the vegetation productivity of temperate forests by extending the carbon uptake period and/or increasing the growth rate. Recent research indicates that the vegetation growth rate is a main driver for the interannual changes in vegetation carbon uptake; however, the specific effects of an earlier SOS on vegetation growth rate and the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Using 268 year-site PhenoCam observations in temperate forests, we found that an earlier SOS reduced the vegetation growth rate and mean air temperature during the green-up period (i.e., from the SOS to the peak of the growing period), but increased the accumulation of shortwave radiation during the green-up period. Interestingly, an earlier-SOS-induced reduction in the growth rate was weakened in the highly humid areas (aridity index ≥ 1) when compared with that in the humid areas (aridity index < 1), suggesting that an earlier-SOS-induced reduction in the growth rate in temperate forests may intensify with the ongoing global warming and aridity in the future. The structural equation model analyses indicated that an earlier-SOS-induced decrease in the temperature and increase in shortwave radiation drove a low vegetation growth rate. Our findings highlight that the productivity of temperate forests may be overestimated if the negative effect of an earlier SOS on the vegetation growth rate is ignored.

Impact of introducing net-zero carbon strategies on tropospheric ozone (O3) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations in Japanese region in 2050

In this study, we estimated the future emission inventory of primary air pollutants in Japan in 2050 after introducing low-carbon technology based on the results of the socio-economic model provided by the Japanese government. The results suggested that introducing net-zero carbon technology would contribute to a 50–60 % decrease in primary NOx, SO2, and CO emissions and a ~30 % decrease in primary emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and PM2.5. The estimated emission inventory and future meteorological conditions in 2050 were applied as inputs to a chemical transport model. A scenario involving the application of future reduction strategies with relatively moderate global warming (RCP4.5) was evaluated. The results showed that the concentration of tropospheric ozone (O3) was highly reduced compared with that in 2015 after applying net-zero carbon reduction strategies. On the other hand, the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration under the 2050 scenario was expected to be equal or higher because of the growth in secondary aerosol formation caused by the increase in short-wave radiation. Finally, the premature mortality change from 2015 to 2050 was analyzed, and the change in air quality contributed by net-zero carbon technology will contribute to a ~4000 decrease in premature deaths in Japan.

Future Indian Ocean warming patterns

Most future projections conducted with coupled general circulation models simulate a non-uniform Indian Ocean warming, with warming hotspots occurring in the Arabian Sea (AS) and the southeastern Indian Ocean (SEIO). But little is known about the underlying physical drivers. Here, we are using a suite of large ensemble simulations of the Community Earth System Model 2 to elucidate the causes of non-uniform Indian Ocean warming. Strong negative air-sea interactions in the Eastern Indian Ocean are responsible for a future weakening of the zonal sea surface temperature gradient, resulting in a slowdown of the Indian Ocean Walker circulation and the generation of southeasterly wind anomalies over the AS. These contribute to anomalous northward ocean heat transport, reduced evaporative cooling, a weakening in upper ocean vertical mixing and an enhanced AS future warming. In contrast, the projected warming in the SEIO is related to a reduction of low-cloud cover and an associated increase in shortwave radiation. Therefore, the regional character of air-sea interactions plays a key role in promoting future large-scale tropical atmospheric circulation anomalies with implications for society and ecosystems far outside the Indian Ocean realm.

Numerical simulation of the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on tropospheric composition and aerosol radiative forcing in Europe

Abstract. Aerosols influence the Earth's energy balance directly by modifying the radiation transfer and indirectly by altering the cloud microphysics. Anthropogenic aerosol emissions dropped considerably when the global COVID-19 pandemic resulted in severe restraints on mobility, production, and public life in spring 2020. We assess the effects of these reduced emissions on direct and indirect aerosol radiative forcing over Europe, excluding contributions from contrails. We simulate the atmospheric composition with the ECHAM5/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) model in a baseline (business-as-usual) and a reduced emission scenario. The model results are compared to aircraft observations from the BLUESKY aircraft campaign performed in May–June 2020 over Europe. The model agrees well with most of the observations, except for sulfur dioxide, particulate sulfate, and nitrate in the upper troposphere, likely due to a biased representation of stratospheric aerosol chemistry and missing information about volcanic eruptions. The comparison with a baseline scenario shows that the largest relative differences for tracers and aerosols are found in the upper troposphere, around the aircraft cruise altitude, due to the reduced aircraft emissions, while the largest absolute changes are present at the surface. We also find an increase in all-sky shortwave radiation of 0.21 ± 0.05 W m−2 at the surface in Europe for May 2020, solely attributable to the direct aerosol effect, which is dominated by decreased aerosol scattering of sunlight, followed by reduced aerosol absorption caused by lower concentrations of inorganic and black carbon aerosols in the troposphere. A further increase in shortwave radiation from aerosol indirect effects was found to be much smaller than its variability. Impacts on ice crystal concentrations, cloud droplet number concentrations, and effective crystal radii are found to be negligible.

Modern Climate Change in the Black Sea Region

Topicality. Climate change in the Black Sea region in recent decades poses certain risks to the econo-mies of countries of region, and may have a significant negative impact on the state of terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The main areas of economic activity in the Black Sea are maritime freight, oil and gas production and transportation, industrial extraction of marine biological resources, recreational and tourist activities in coastal areas, etc. The Black Sea significantly affects the climate of the south-eastern part of the European continent, forming regional climatic features in the area. The development of measures to adapt to climate change requires the collection and analysis of data on the state of the climate system and the current characteristics of their interaction and feedback. Purpose. The purpose of this work is to review and analyze information on regional climate change observed in recent decades to find patterns and possible links with the variability of the hydrological regime of the Black Sea. Results. This paper contains information on the main climatic characteristics of the Black Sea region, such as air temperature, precipitation, atmospheric pressure, wind speed, as well as indicators of cyclonic activity. Conclusions. In recent decades, the Black Sea region has seen an increase in air temperature caused by changes in large-scale atmospheric circulation, in the form of increased recurrence of anticyclonic processes, leading to a decrease in clouds and an increase in shortwave radiation entering the underlying surface. At the same time, since the mid-2000s, the increase in average annual air temperature has increased. The average annual rainfall is maintained in most parts of the region, with the exception of the eastern part of the Black Sea coast of Turkey and the coastal areas of Georgia, where there is an increase in both rainfall and the frequency of extreme rainfall. At the same time, there is some increase in both the intensity and amount of winter precipitation over the Black Sea. Wind speeds in the Black Sea region as a whole show a decrease in their values, with some increase in the western part of the Black Sea, which is also associated with changes in the peculiarities of circulating processes that develop over South-Eastern Europe.

Challenges of small-scale standalone solar energy supply in parts of Lagos via 39 years dataset

The adoption of solar energy as a sustainable clean type of energy can be seen globally by the patronage of solar devices. However, the high patronage photovoltaic (PV) module by the small-scale standalone user may be mitigated by the recent high maintenance cost via PV module damages by UV radiation. This study analyzed thirty-nine years (1980-2018) shortwave dataset in the tropics to chart the way forward for PV user, manufacturer, and regulatory organizations. It was observed that there is an increase in shortwave radiation in recent times that has led to more damages to PV modules. However, there is a statistical possibility that there may be lower shortwave radiation in the next decade, thereby reducing PV module damage. It is recommended that PV manufacture should modify the PV polymeric to shield the PV modules from UV radiation damage. Based on this research’s finding, it is recommended that product regulatory organizations develop a new technique to monitor PV modules.

Large discrepancies in summer climate change over Europe as projected by global and regional climate models: causes and consequences

We assess the differences of future climate changes over Europe in summer as projected by state-of-the-art regional climate models (RCM, from the EURO-Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment) and by their forcing global climate models (GCM, from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5) and study the associated physical mechanisms. We show that important discrepancies at large-scales exist between global and regional projections. The RCMs project at the end of the 21st century over a large area of Europe a summer warming 1.5–2 K colder, and a much smaller decrease of precipitation of 5%, versus 20% in their driving GCMs. The RCMs generally simulate a much smaller increase in shortwave radiation at surface, which directly impacts surface temperature. In addition to differences in cloud cover changes, the absence of time-varying anthropogenic aerosols in most regional simulations plays a major role in the differences of solar radiation changes. We confirm this result with twin regional simulations with and without time-varying anthropogenic aerosols. Additionally, the RCMs simulate larger increases in evapotranspiration over the Mediterranean sea and larger increases/smaller decreases over land, which contribute to smaller changes in relative humidity, with likely impacts on clouds and precipitation changes. Several potential causes of these differences in evapotranspiration changes are discussed. Overall, this work suggests that the current EURO-CORDEX RCM ensemble does not capture the upper part of the climate change uncertainty range, with important implications for impact studies and the adaptation policies that they inform.

The Semidirect Effect of Combined Dust and Sea Salt Aerosols in a Multimodel Analysis

AbstractTo date, very few studies have focused on dust and sea salt cloud interactions, particularly the semidirect effect (SDE) that results from changes in column temperature and moisture. Here, we isolate the SDE using several climate models driven by semiempirical dust and sea salt direct radiative effects. The global annual mean SDE varies from 0.01 to 0.10 W/m2, with the bulk of the signal coming from an increase in shortwave radiation. This is consistent with decreases in low cloud over ocean due to cloud burn‐off and reductions in midlevel cloud over land due to atmospheric stabilization and decreased convection. Overall, longwave effects weaken the positive SDE but with opposing effects over land and sea. High cloud is reduced over land but enhanced over sea. We conclude that dust and sea salt likely exert a global mean warming effect through cloud rapid adjustments.

Vegetation-cloud feedbacks to future vegetation changes in the Arctic regions

This study investigates future changes in the Arctic region and vegetation-cloud feedbacks simulated using the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Atmosphere Model Version 3 coupled with a mixed layer ocean model. Impacts of future greening of the Arctic region are tested using altered surface boundary conditions for hypothetical vegetation distributions: (1) grasslands poleward of 60°N replaced by boreal forests and (2) both grasslands and shrubs replaced by boreal forests. Surface energy budget analysis reveals that future greening induces a considerable surface warming effect locally and warming is largely driven by an increase in short wave radiation. Both upward and downward shortwave radiation contribute to positive surface warming: upward shortwave radiation decreases mainly due to the decreased surface albedo (a darker surface) and downward shortwave radiation increases due to reduced cloud cover. The contribution of downward shortwave radiation at surface due to cloud cover reduction is larger than the contribution from surface albedo alone. The increased roughness length also transported surface fluxes to upper layer more efficiently and induce more heating and dry lower atmosphere. A relatively smaller increase in water vapor compared to the large increase in low-level air temperature in the simulation reduces relative humidity and results in reduced cloud cover. Therefore, vegetation-cloud feedbacks induced from land cover change significantly amplify Arctic warming. In addition to previously suggested feedback mechanisms, we propose that the vegetation-cloud feedback should be considered as one of major components that will give rise to an additional positive feedback to Arctic amplification.

Interdecadal Difference of Interannual Variability Characteristics of South China Sea SSTs Associated with ENSO

Abstract The correlation between sea surface temperature (SST) and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) persists into post-ENSO September over the South China Sea (SCS), the longest correlation in the World Ocean. Slow modulations of this correlation are analyzed by using the International Comprehensive Ocean–Atmosphere Dataset (ICOADS). ENSO’s influence on SCS SST has experienced significant interdecadal changes over the past 138 years (1870–2007), with a double-peak structure correlation after the 1960s compared to a single-peak before the 1940s. According to the ENSO correlation character, the analysis period is divided into four epochs. In epoch 3, 1960–83, the SST warming and enhanced precipitation over the southeastern tropical Indian Ocean, rather than the Indian Ocean basinwide warming, induce easterly wind anomalies and warm up the SCS in the summer following El Niño. Besides the Indian Ocean effect, during epochs 2 (1930–40) and 4 (1984–2007), the Pacific–Japan (PJ) pattern of atmospheric circulation anomalies helps sustain the SCS SST warming through summer (June–August) with easterly wind anomalies. The associated increase in shortwave radiation and decrease in upward latent heat flux cause the SCS SST warming to persist into the summer. Meanwhile, the rainfall response around the SCS to ENSO shows interdecadal variability, with stronger variability after the 1980s. The results suggest that both the remote forcing from the tropical Indian Ocean and the PJ pattern are important for the ENSO teleconnection to the SCS and its interdecadal modulations.

Regional climate response to land surface changes after harvest in the North China Plain under present and possible future climate conditions

AbstractIn this study, we investigated the impacts of land use alterations from harvesting practices on the regional surface climate over the North China Plain. The surface climate responses after harvest in June in regions where double‐cropping is practiced were evaluated using observations and model simulations with the global climate model HadGEM2‐Atmosphere. Responses were modeled under both present and possible future climate conditions. In the model, double‐cropping was represented using the monthly varying fraction of vegetation. This contributed to an improvement in the model simulation over East Asia. Modeling results showed that the land surface was warmer and drier after harvest, and these simulation results were consistent with observations. The bare soil surface after harvest in June had biophysical impacts on the surface climate that were mediated by decreasing evapotranspiration and latent heat flux effects, which increased surface air temperatures and decreased surface humidity. An increase in shortwave radiation also contributed to the rise in temperatures. Under two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) scenarios for possible future climate conditions, land conversion induced additional warming in addition to greenhouse gases induced global warming. The RCP 8.5 and RCP 2.6 scenarios demonstrated a warming of 1.0°C and 1.4°C due to harvesting practices in June, respectively. The response magnitude was affected by the climate conditions in each RCP. Our results suggest that potential impacts of harvest on the local climate need to be considered in future projections of CO2‐induced warming on a regional scale.

Energy budget change in the tropics according to the SRES A1B scenario in the IPCC AR4 models

The IPCC AR4 model data sets were investigated in order to address how the energy balance will change in the tropics (30°S–30°N) under the SRES A1B scenario. A climate change signal with a well‐defined trend was extracted using cyclostationary empirical orthogonal function analysis; this signal depicts near‐linear warming in the tropics. This “warming” signal, together with the seasonal cycle, explains most of the variance (91.32–94.86%) in the AR4 model datasets. In addition to the warming of the atmospheric column and the surface, the cloud fraction decreased over most of the tropics, except over the equatorial Pacific. Specific humidity generally increased over the entire troposphere. The decreased cloud fraction and the increased specific humidity resulted in a net increase in shortwave radiation (by ~3.58 (±1.92) W m–2) in the atmospheric column. Simultaneously, the increased atmospheric and surface temperatures (resulting from positive water vapor feedback) caused enhanced longwave radiation exchange between the surface and the atmospheric column; net downward longwave radiation increased by ~19.22 (±3.85) W m–2, and net upward longwave radiation increased by ~14.50 (±3.04) W m–2 over 100 years. The second largest change was found in the heat flux leaving the surface, which amounted to ~4.55 (±1.72) W m–2. As a result of the radiation budget change associated with warming and meridional energy transport by the atmosphere and the ocean, net energy gains were found for both the tropical atmosphere (~5.82 (±3.23) W m–2) and the tropical surface (~0.48 (±0.30) W m–2).

Effect of aerosol size distribution changes on AOD, CCN and cloud droplet concentration: Case studies from Erfurt and Melpitz, Germany

For the period of 1990 to 2000, atmospheric particulate mass concentrations have decreased in Central Europe. Simultaneously, the amount of shortwave radiation reaching the ground increased during clear sky conditions. The aerosol indirect effect has not been seen as clearly, as the radiation reaching the ground during overcast conditions has not increased as much as might be expected. Here we show that this may be caused by the condensation kinetics of water during cloud droplet formation. The decrease in the particulate mass led to a clear decrease in the number concentration of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). However, in urban areas a relatively larger decrease in the number of particles in the upper end of the accumulation mode has led to slower condensation of water. As a result, a higher maximum supersaturation is reached during the cloud droplet formation. This compensates for the effect of decreased CCN concentrations. For example in Erfurt between 1991 and 1996, the aerosol properties changed so that aerosol optical depth decreased by 58% and CCN concentration decreased by 25 to 50%. These led to a 4 to 12% reduction in cloud droplet number concentration (CDNC) and less than a 2 Wm−2 increase in shortwave radiation during overcast conditions. These results demonstrate that locally the aerosol direct effect can be much larger than the aerosol indirect effect. Furthermore, even though AOD appears to be a valid proxy for CCN, the correlation between AOD and CDNC is not straightforward and thus AOD cannot be used as a proxy for CDNC.

Relationship between downwelling surface shortwave radiative fluxes and sea surface temperature over the tropical Pacific: AMIP II models versus satellite estimates

Abstract. Incident shortwave radiation at the Earth's surface is the driving force of the climate system. Understanding the relationship between this forcing and the sea surface temperature, in particular, over the tropical Pacific Ocean is a topic of great interest because of possible climatic implications. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between downwelling shortwave radiative fluxes and sea surface temperature by using available data on radiative fluxes. We assess first the shortwave radiation from three General Circulation Models that participated in the second phase of the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP II) against estimates of such fluxes from satellites. The shortwave radiation estimated from the satellite is based on observations from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project D1 data and the University of Maryland Shortwave Radiation Budget model (UMD/SRB). Model and satellite estimates of surface radiative fluxes are found to be in best agreement in the central equatorial Pacific, according to mean climatology and spatial correlations. We apply a Canonical Correlation Analysis to determine the interrelated areas where shortwave fluxes and sea surface temperature are most sensitive to climate forcing. Model simulations and satellite estimates of shortwave fluxes both capture well the interannual signal of El Niño-like variability. The tendency for an increase in shortwave radiation from the UMD/SRB model is not captured by the AMIP II models.

A Steady-state Model for Prediction of Poinsettia Plant Shoot-tip Temperature

A model was constructed to predict shoot-tip temperature of poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch) according to an energy-balance equation by using five greenhouse environmental factors: dry-bulb, wet-bulb, and sky (glazing or shade screen) temperature; transmitted shortwave radiation; and air velocity. An experiment was conducted to collect the five environmental variables that were used as model inputs, and shoot-tip temperature data were used to validate the predicted shoot-tip temperature in a commercial greenhouse. The standard deviation of the difference between predicted and measured shoot-tip temperature was 0.798 and was calculated by using 8547 data points, and >84% of the actual and predicted data points were within 1 °C. A sensitivity analysis performed with the model indicated that, among the three temperatures measured, plant shoot-tip temperature was primarily influenced by the dry-bulb temperature. For example, shoot-tip temperature increased an average of 0.74 °C for every 1 °C increase in dry-bulb temperature when dry-bulb temperature varied from 28 to 42 °C, wet-bulb temperature was 27.8 °C, sky temperature was 39.8 °C, shortwave radiation (285 to 2800 nm) was 760 W·m-2, and air velocity was 0.44 m·s-1. Under these conditions and a dry-bulb temperature of 32.6 °C, an increase in shortwave radiation of 500 W·m-2 increased the shoot-tip temperature by an average of 3.3 °C. This developed model may be a useful tool to predict shoot-tip temperature and evaluate the effect of greenhouse environmental factors on shoot-tip temperature.

Importance of Clouds to the Decaying Trend and Decadal Variability in the Arctic Ice Cover.

The areal extent of the sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean has declined in the last 40 years with increased decadal variability. The trend is clearly influenced by the radiation balance over all seasons. A cloudiness increase in the fall, winter and spring contributes to a reduction in the absolute amount of net longwave radiation at the sea surface. In the summer, the reduced cloud cover has led to an increase in shortwave radiation, permitting more net outgoing radiation, and yielding a small increase in the total incoming radiation. All of these trends promote ice reduction, and may suggest the importance of clouds during a possible global warming in the near future. The effects of clouds and radiation are comparable with the albedo reduction associated with more open water, which absorbs more solar radiation in the summer. Analyses of the decadal variabilities reveal qualitatively the same effects as those of the radiation on the ice cover.

Leaf Temperature and Transpiration of Rice Plants in Relation to Short-Wave Radiation and Wind Speed

Leaf temperature and transpiration amount of rice plants were measured in a steady environment in a laboratory and in field situations. The plants set in Wagner pots were used. Experiments were carried out at the tillering and booting stages, and on the date of maturity. Measured leaf temperatures and transpiration rates were analyzed in connection with incident short-wave radiation on a leaf and wind speed measured simultaneously.Instantaneous supplying and turning-off of steady artificial light caused cyclic changes in leaf temperature and transpiration. Leaf temperature dropped in feeble illumination compared with the steady temperature in the preceeding dark.On the date of maturity, a rice plant leaf was warmer than the air, even in feeble light. Then, the leaf-air temperature difference and transpiration rate showed approximately linear increases with short-wave radiation intensity. On the same date, an increase in wind speed produced a decrease in leaf-air temperature difference, i.e., leaf temperature dropped, and an increase in transpiration rate. The rates of both changes in leaf temperature and transpiration rate were fairly large in a range of wind speed below about 1m/s.For rice plants growing favorably from the tillering stage through the booting stage, the leaves were considerably cooler than the air, even in an intense light and/or solar radiation. The leaf temperature showed the lowest value at short-wave radiations between 0.15 and 0.20ly/min, at above which the leaf temperature rised with an increase in short-wave radiation until it approached the air temperature. Transpiration rate of rice plants increased rapidly with an increase in short-wave radiation ranging below 0.2 or 0.3ly/min, at above which the increase in transpiration rate slowed.The relationships between leaf temperature and/or transpiration rate and wind speed and/or incident short-wave radiation (solar radiation) which were obtained experimentally, supported the relationships evaluated after solving the heat budget equation of a plant leaf. Further, it was suggested that the transpiration amount of rice plants might be estimated by solving a heat budget equation using a horizontal leaf temperature.