Journal of Ecology and Rural Environment ›› 2017, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (3): 201-206.doi: 10.11934/j.issn.1673-4831.2017.03.002

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Characteristics of the Temporal and Spatial Variation of Anthropogenic Heat Flux in South China

ZHU Kuan-guang1,2, ZHAO Wei3, XIE Min2,4, ZHU Xin-sheng3, LI Ming-gao1, FENG Wen4   

  1. 1. Hubei Academy of Environment Science, Wuhan 430072, China;
    2. School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210046, China;
    3. Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nanjing 210042, China;
    4. Key Laboratory of South China Sea Meteorological Disaster Prevention and Mitigation of Hainan Province, Haikou 570203, China
  • Received:2016-04-18 Online:2017-03-25 Published:2017-03-25

Abstract:

Based on the data of regional energy consumption and population published in the "China Statistics Yearbooks" and the "China Energy Yearbooks" in 1990-2015, analyses were done for temporal and spatial distribution of anthropogenic heat flux (AHF) in South China (i. e. Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hong Kong) and its affecting factors. Results show that AHF kept going up with the time passing by in Hainan, Guangdong, and Guangxi, with the annual mean AHF rising from 0.09, 0.47 and 0.16 W·m-2 in 1995 to 0.49, 1.68 and 0.44 W·m-2 in 2014, respectively. AHF distributed unevenly in space. The year of 2010 found that the downtown areas of Zhanjiang, Haikou and those major cities in the Pearl River Delta and the Chaoshan District, were the centers of the regions relatively high in AHF, with Guangzhou and Hong Kong in particular, being 50 and 100 W·m-2, respectively, in AHF. Such a pattern of AHF distribution is thought to be closely related to the high degrees of industrial and commercial development and the high densities of population. During the period from 1995 to 2010, AHF in the above mentioned cities grew the most quickly or by as high as 0.7 W·m-2·a-1. The rapidly growing AHF will sure bring about greater impacts on climate and air quality of the regions in South China. It is, therefore, essential to pay more attention to the study on AHF and its effects.

Key words: anthropogenic heat flux, south China, urbanization, climate stress, energy consumption

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