Urbanization effects on surface air temperature trends in Thailand during 1970-2019

Abstract

Continued urban expansion undergone in the last decades has converted many weather stations in Thailand into suburban and urban setting. Based on homogenized data during 1970-2019, therefore, this study examines urbanization effects on mean surface air temperature (Tmean) trends in Thailand. Analysis shows that urban-type stations register the strongest warming trends while rural-type stations exhibit the smallest trends. Across Thailand, annual urban-warming contribution exhibits a wide range (< 5% to 77%), probably manifesting the Urban Heat Island (UHI) differences from city to city resulting from the varied urban characteristics and climatic background. Country-wide average urban warming contribution shows a significant increasing trend of 0.15 ^oC per decade, accounting for 40.5% of the overall warming. This evidence indicates that urban expansion has great influence on surface warming, and the urban-warming bias contributes large fraction of rising temperature trends in Thailand. The increasing trend of annual Tmean for Thailand as a whole after adjusting urban-warming bias is brought down to the same rate as the annual global mean temperature trend, reflecting a national baseline signal driven by large-scale anthropogenic-induced climate change. Our results provide a scientific reference for policy makers and urban planners to mitigate substantial fraction of the UHI warming.