Seasonal and diurnal variability in historical warming due to the urbanization of Hokkaido, Japan

Abstract

The influence of historical urbanization on warming trends observed on Hokkaido Island (Japan) is discussed with an emphasis on seasonally and diurnally differential responses of air temperature to urban effects. Two numerical experiments using past and current land use scenarios successfully simulated the observed temperature trends, showing a greater rate of warming in winter than in summer and a greater increase in daily minimum than daily maximum temperatures. The results suggest that seasonal and diurnal variations in the thermal structure of the planetary boundary layer play a leading role in determining the warming rate of surface air. Under strongly stable stratification, anomalous heating within the urban canopy dissipates into a near-surface shallow layer, resulting in increased daily minimum temperatures during winter. In summer, however, anomalous urban heating due to increased Bowen ratios is attenuated by vertical mixing in the convective daytime boundary layer, suppressing the impact of urban heating on surface warming.