Modulation of Wintertime Canopy Urban Heat Island (CUHI) Intensity in Beijing by Synoptic Weather Pattern in Planetary Boundary Layer

Studying the spatiotemporal variations of the urban heat island (UHI) effect and its cause is important towards understanding urban climate change, planning and green development, and disaster mitigation. In this paper, by using surface observations and reanalysis data with objective classification of synoptic weather patterns (SWPs), we analyze the associations between canopy UHI intensity (CUHI) and SWPs in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) and their potential drivers during wintertime of the period 2012-2017. Six dominant types of SWP are identified as follows: In the case of Types 3, 4, and 6, weak high-pressure systems exist to the south of Beijing, resulting in weak southerly winds with low PBL height, large cloud coverage and high relative humidity (RH). These conditions are generally conducive to a strengthening of the CUHII. In contrast, under Types 1, 2, and 5, high-pressure systems are located to the northwest of Beijing, and the associated strong northwesterly flows of dry and cold air strengthen the boundary layer mixing process, resulting in large wind speed and low RH. This is conducive to a weakening of the CUHII. In general, our work reveals the impacts of SWPs on the strength of CUHII mainly via the modulation of local weather conditions at diurnal and interannual scales, while spatial pattern of CUHII is largely dominated by local climate zones. Our findings have implications for CUHII forecasts, as well as impact assessments and policymaking in the context of UHI-related energy conservation in winter over high-density urban areas on the synoptic scale.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the spatiotemporal variations of the urban heat island (UHI) effect and its cause, focusing on the associations between canopy UHI intensity (CUHI) and synoptic weather patterns (SWPs) in the planetary boundary layer (PBL). The study finds that the SWPs, such as wind direction and humidity, greatly influence the strength of CUHII. Furthermore, it also reveals that the spatial pattern of CUHII is largely determined by local climate zones.