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Surface warming in global cities is substantially more rapid than in rural background areas

Environmental Studies and Forestry

Surface warming in global cities is substantially more rapid than in rural background areas

Z. Liu, W. Zhan, et al.

This exciting study reveals that urban areas are warming at a rate of 0.50 ± 0.20 K per decade, significantly faster than rural regions. Conducted by Zihan Liu, Wenfeng Zhan, Benjamin Bechtel, and others, it highlights the key roles of climate change and urban expansion in driving this trend, particularly in China and India, while showing how urban greening can help mitigate warming effects in Europe.

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Playback language: English
Abstract
This study investigates the urban surface warming trends using satellite land surface temperatures (LST) from 2002 to 2021 for over 2000 city clusters worldwide. The results show that the mean surface warming trend in urban cores is 0.50 ± 0.20 K per decade, which is 29% greater than the trend in rural background areas. Background climate change is the largest contributor to urban warming, but urban expansion significantly impacts warming in China and India. Urban greening, observed in European cities, offsets background warming. The study highlights the need to consider the different warming rates between urban and rural areas in assessments of heat-related health impacts and future projections.
Publisher
Communications Earth & Environment
Published On
Sep 29, 2022
Authors
Zihan Liu, Wenfeng Zhan, Benjamin Bechtel, James Voogt, Jiameng Lai, Tirthankar Chakraborty, Zhi-Hua Wang, Manchun Li, Fan Huang, Xuhui Lee
Tags
urban warming
land surface temperatures
climate change
urban expansion
health impacts

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