Comparative analysis of the spatiotemporal patterns and trends of three types of summer heatwaves in China (1981–2020) using a biometeorological index

Abstract

Under global warming, heatwaves (HWs) are exerting increasing impacts on human life. In order to explore the thermal sensation of HWs under the combined influence of air temperature, humidity, radiation and wind speed, this study utilized the hourly Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) data from the ECMWF Reanalysis v5 (ERA5) to define daytime, night-time and compound HWs, and then comparatively analysed their occurrences in China during 1981–2020. Results revealed that daytime HWs affect the majority of regions in China with the exception of the Tibetan Plateau, while both night-time and compound HWs mainly strike the Yangtze River Basin and the Guangdong–Guangxi region in southeastern China. Additionally, it is noteworthy that a substantial portion of regions experiencing night-time HWs also encounter compound HWs. The frequency and intensity of all three types of HWs show increasing trends generally in regions where HWs occur. The spatial coverage of HWs grows at rates of 8.05%/10a, 2.11%/10a and 1.62%/10a for the daytime, night-time and compound types, respectively. For each summer month, the spatial coverage of daytime HWs notably surpasses that of night-time and compound HWs. Further classifying HWs with intensity, it is found that the spatial coverage of both moderate and severe HW events exhibits discernible rising trends across all three types of HWs. Furthermore, regions with higher HW frequencies are more likely to experience severe HWs as well as record-breaking ones. Additionally, the spatial coverage of daytime, night-time and compound record-breaking HWs is expanding.