Vegetation greening offsets urbanization induced fast warming in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao region (GHMR)

Liya Chao, Qingxiang Li, Wenjie Dong, Yuanjian Yang, Ziyou Guo, Boyin Huang, Liming Zhou, Zhihong Jiang, Panmao Zhai, Phil Jones

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Abstract

Previous studies show that the environment in the Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao region is under the double stress of global warming and urbanization. Here, we show that due to the increase of regional greenness, the effect of urbanization warming on surface air temperature (SAT) decreased with time and became statistically insignificant from 2004 to 2018, compared to 1979 onward; while the urbanization itself has significantly warmed land surface temperature (LST), with a warming rate of 0.14°C ± 0.04°C/10a at daytime and 0.02°C ± 0.02°C/10a at nighttime during 2004–2018, respectively. The anthropogenic heat was found to have a limited influence on SAT, but more significant and tangible effects on LST. It is essential to improve the control of additional warming effects caused by urbanization.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere2021GL095217
JournalGeophysical Research Letters
Volume48
Issue number20
Early online date29 Sep 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Oct 2021

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