TEMPERATURE CHANGE CHARACTERISTICS IN THE PEARL RIVER DELTA DURING THE LAST 50 YEARS

摘要

This paper studied 42 weather stations in Pearl River Delta from 1960 to 2009 and analysed the annually seasonal temperatures spatial distribution, time variation and spatial distribution trends, which compared 1960-1984 with 1985-2009. Firstly, the spatial distribution of mean temperature was decreasing with the increasing latitude and from downstream to upstream. The mean monthly temperature ranges were increasing with the increasing latitude and from downstream to the upstream. Moreover, the monthly temperature range was highest in autumn and lowest in winter. Secondly, a significant difference for average temperature was found in summer between 1960-1984 and 1985-2009. There was not much dispersion of the mean temperature during the two periods, especially in summer. All of the distributions for average temperatures are closer to the normal distribution. But the distribution of average temperature from 1960 to 1984 had a significant difference from the distribution of average temperature from 1985 to 2009, especially in summer. The most anomaly mean temperature season was in winter. During 1985 to 2009, the fastest growth season is in spring. Thirdly, the coastal cities heat island intensity is stronger than the heat island intensity in inland cities.