Analysis of the Impact of Urbanization on Climate Change in Korean Cities

Understanding the rise in urban temperatures by distinguishing between the effects of urbanization and global warming is essential for preparing for future urban climate changes. The purpose of this study is to quantitatively analyze the impact of urbanization by calculating the urban bias of urban temperatures. To achieve this, we analyzed the pixels of nearby urban areas based on land use maps for 66 synoptic weather stations nationwide, categorizing them into metropolitan areas, small and medium-sized cities, and rural areas. Using the average temperature values measured at the weather stations from 1991 to 2020, we conducted a time series analysis of temperatures by city category and extracted urban bias and urban bias trends. The results of estimating the contribution of urbanization for each group indicated that the urban bias was positive for all, meaning that metropolitan areas have higher temperatures than small and medium-sized cities and rural areas. On the other hand, urban bias trends were negative under almost all conditions, indicating that the changes in annual and seasonal average temperatures in rural areas are greater than those in metropolitan and small and medium-sized cities.