Abstract
It is important to quantify changes in the local meteorological observational environment (MOE) around weather stations if we are to obtain accurate assessments of the regional warming of the surface air temperature (SAT) in relation to urbanization bias. Current studies often use two-dimensional parameters (e.g., the land surface temperature, land use/land cover and the normalized difference vegetation index) to characterize the local MOE. Most of the existing models of the relationship between urbanization bias in SAT series and MOE parameters are linear regression models, which ignore the non-linear driving effect of MOE changes on SAT series. By contrast, there is a lack of three-dimensional parameters in the characterization of the morphological features of the MOE. Changes in the MOE related to urbanization lead to uncertainties in the contribution of SAT series on different scales and we need to introduce vertical structure indexes to enrich the three-dimensional spatial morphology of MOE parameters. The non-linear response of urbanization bias in SAT series to three-dimensional changes in the MOE and its scale dependence should be explored by coupling computational fluid dynamics model simulations with machine learning.
Introduction
The meteorological observational environment (MOE) around weather stations is fundamental to the accurate and continuous recording of the meteorological elements used for disaster prevention and mitigation, economic development, public health decision-making and climate change adaptation (Ren et al., , ; Luo and Lau, , ; Zheng et al., 2021). The MOE of stations changes with rapid urbanization, which leads to inhomogeneities in the surface air temperature (SAT) series (Li, ; Yan et al., 2014; Cao et al., ; Du et al., ). For example, local changes in the microclimate immediately surrounding the thermometer shelter mean that the temperature records of poorly exposed stations are likely to contain non-climate biases that are not representative of the climate in the surrounding area (Davey and Pielke, ; Yilmaz et al., 2008). We refer to these non-climate biases as urbanization bias (Zhang, 2009; Connolly and Connolly, ). Urbanization bias has become an important cause of systematic bias in the SAT in China, leading to uncertainties in regional and even global climate change predictions (Mahmood et al., ; Ren et al., ; Tysa et al., 2019; Wen et al., 2019). Quantitative analysis of the effects of environmental change on urbanization bias in the SAT is fundamental work at the forefront of climate change research.
According to the World Meteorological Organization, the observational biases caused by changes and disruptions in the MOE are usually greater than instrumental errors and may even completely drown out signals of climate change (Watts, 2009). The impact of changes in the local MOE related to urbanization bias on the SAT should therefore be quantified in large-scale studies of climate change (Brohan et al., ; Zhang, 2009; Soon et al., ). The spatial morphological characteristics of the MOE around a weather station are important in driving urbanization bias in the SAT (Erell et al., ; Shi et al., ). Previous studies have attempted to quantify the contribution of this urbanization bias to regional warming by using the results from surface stations (Jones et al., ; Menne et al., ; Ren et al., ; Fall et al., ; Stewart and Oke, ; Estoque et al., ; Scarano and Mancini, ), although this is still controversial as a result of uncertainties in quantifying the impact of the MOE on urbanization bias.
This paper summarizes and reviews recent progress in the characterization of the spatial morphology of the MOE, the relationship between changes in the MOE and the urbanization bias in SAT series, and considers future research directions.
Research Progress on the Characterization of the Spatial Morphology of the MOE
An undisturbed MOE with long-term stability is required to obtain valuable, continuous, uniform and accurate observational data. Quantitative representation of the spatial morphology of the local MOE around weather stations is an important prerequisite in studies of urbanization bias. Figure 1 shows that weather stations are usually sited far away from cities in the early stages of station construction and therefore their observed temperature series represents the local climate background (Figure 1A). The representation of the MOE continues to be damaged as urban sprawl encroaches the weather station (Figure 1B). The thermal properties of the underlying surface are changed by the addition of impervious surfaces and buildings around the station (Figure 1B) and the built-up area warms faster than the natural underlying surface under the same amount of solar radiation (Ren, ; Yang and Bou-Zeid, 2019).
Figure 1
Further, we take the Hefei station in eastern China as an example to discuss the changes of MOE from 1979 to 2018. Figure 2 gives the distribution of land use within the 20-km buffer zone around the center of Hefei (Shi et al., ). In the last 40 years, the built-up area within 20 km of Hefei in 2018 is about 20 times larger than that in 1979, leading to the continuous deterioration of MOE. In 1979, the Hefei station was relocated to the outskirts of the city (Figure 2A). As time went by, the residential and industrial land around the observation site was increasing, and by 1998 the urban sprawl had affected the MOE of Hefei station (Figure 2C). As a result, the site was relocated to the suburban area in 2004 (Figure 2D). 2018, when the MOE of the site was again destroyed (Figure 2F).
Figure 2
In addition, anthropogenic heat released from boilers, air conditioners and motor vehicles within the city is transferred via the urban boundary layer (Zhang et al., 2016, 2021; Yang et al., 2020a). The pollutants emitted exacerbate the urban heat island effect at night through the interaction of aerosols with solar radiation (Zheng et al., 2018). Greater air pollution can generate more intense nocturnal heat islands, for example, Yang et al. (2020b) suggested that the UHII at the time of daily maximum/minimum temperature (UHIImax/UHIImin) exhibits a decreasing/increasing tendency as PM2.5 concentration increases, causing a continuous decrease in the diurnal temperature range (DTR), and these effects are mediated via aerosol-radiation interaction (aerosol-cloud interaction) under clear-sky (cloudy) condition.
Characterization Indexes of the Two-Dimensional Morphology of the MOE
Microclimate observation networks and high-density automated meteorological observation networks have been used to study the changing characteristics of meteorological observation sequences and to analyze the extent to which the MOE is affected by urbanization (Stewart and Oke,
Many studies have used horizontal parameters [e.g., the land surface temperature (LST), land use/land cover (LULC), impervious surface area (ISA), the normalized difference vegetation index and the night-time light intensity] in the remote sensing monitoring and simulation of the MOE (Gallo et al.,
The anthropogenic heat flux is closely related to changes in the built-up area around stations (Yang X. et al., 2019; Yang et al., 2020a; Chen G. et al.,
However, the two-dimensional morphological indexes are limited to a single scientific discipline, which may not completely characterize the MOE and its impacts on observation. For example, in 2013, the national meteorological observational station in Anqing was surrounded by a high-density built-up area (Figure 3A), and the built-up area ratio within a of 5-km radius buffer zone around station can reach 71.3%. Anqing station was therefore moved 12.5 km to the northwest of the old station, with an elevation difference of 6.0 m. Within a radius of 5 km, the proportion of buildings around the station decreased to 15.4%, and the MOE assessment score increased from 75 to 95 (MOE assessment conducted by the meteorological administration can be scored by 0–100, the high the score is, the better the MOE is). However, when comparing the synchronous observational data, we found that the daily average temperature of the new station was higher than that of the old station for 348 days after relocation and the annual average temperature was 0.76°C higher than that of the old station with a warming of 4.4% (Figure 3B). According to the current remote sensing assessment method, the MOE of the relocated Anqing station is greatly improved, but the SAT series is more significantly influenced by urbanization. Although the urban area within the MOE was significantly reduced after relocation, the new buildings to the east and northwest of the station were much taller than the old buildings. The structural layout of the planting, water bodies and buildings around the old station was well planned and effectively mitigated the impact of urbanization on the thermal environment around the station.
Figure 3

(A) Changes in the MOE before and after the relocation of Anqing station in 2013, (B) difference in daily-averaged surface air temperature between new and old location (SATDON) of Anqing station in 2013.
Three-Dimensional Morphological Index System for the MOE
The spatial morphology within the MOE can be divided into horizontal and vertical morphologies, where the vertical morphology is characterized using indexes related to the heights of buildings (Shi et al.,
The vertical geometry of buildings has a much greater impact on the local microclimate than other factors (Oke,
Existing methods for three-dimensional morphological assessment of MOE are at an early stage and can not be ignored (Voogt and Oke, 2004; Davis et al.,
Influence of Spatial Patterns of the MOE on Urbanization Bias in SAT Series
The rapid urbanization seen in recent years has meant that many meteorological stations previously located on the outskirts of cities with good observational environments have gradually moved into urban centers or are now surrounded by built-up areas. This has created biases in the SAT series, which cannot be ignored to regional warming in China (Ren et al.,
Station Relocation, Observational Environment Change and Inhomogeneity in Urbanization Context
Station relocation significantly influence on observational environment change. Taking Hefei station in eastern China as example (Shi et al.,
Previous studies have shown that the errors caused by MOE changes and destructions are usually greater than the instrumental observation errors, which can completely submerge the signal of climate change (Gallo et al.,
Generally speaking, in the past 30 years, with the rapid economy development and urbanization in China, MOE of national meteorological stations in mainland China has been seriously damaged, and a large number of stations have been forcedly and frequently relocated. Although the relocation of stations has improved the regional representation of meteorological observations, it has made the issue of non-uniformity of climate data in China increasingly prominent (Li et al.,
Detection and Revision of Urbanization Bias
Current research on urbanization bias has focused on the detection and revision of inhomogeneities in the SAT series (Hansen et al.,
However, the technical solutions for studying urbanization bias are not yet complete as a result of a lack of in-depth analysis of the drivers (Shi et al.,
Table 1 shows that Hefei city developed relatively slowly before 2004, whereas the total GDP increased by $4.23 billion during the time period 2004–2018, with an average annual growth rate of 81.77%, ranking first in the economic growth rate of the Yangtze River Delta region. The proportion of built-up land around the station increased significantly after 2004, but the results obtained from traditional research methods show that the urbanization bias of Hefei station has remained consistent over the last three decades (multi-year average 0.0651°C/decade). The assumption that the urbanization bias increases linearly from year to year in the traditional approach is therefore questionable (Shi et al.,
Table 1
| Year | Observed temperature (°C) | Urban bias (°C) | Temperature after correction (°C) | Ratio of built-up area (%) | GDP (100 millions of USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 16.1236 | 0.1694 | 15.9542 | 18 | – |
| 1987 | 15.7956 | 0.2211 | 15.5745 | 20 | – |
| 1998 | 17.1285 | 0.2925 | 16.8360 | 25 | 42.30 |
| 2004 | 16.6333 | 0.3320 | 16.3013 | 28 | 92.23 |
| 2009 | 16.7197 | 0.3644 | 16.3553 | 53 | 328.77 |
| 2018 | 17.0615 | 0.4225 | 16.6390 | 92 | 1223.50 |
Calculation results of urbanization bias of Hefei station based on the traditional linear trend method (cited from Shi et al.,
Drivers of the Spatial Morphology of the MOE on Urbanization Bias in SAT Series
Current research methods on the relationship between the three-dimensional morphology and surface air temperature series are divided into two main categories (i.e., statistical modeling and numerical modeling).
Statistical modeling method includes correlation analysis and regression equations, where the independent variable is the morphological parameter and the dependent variable is the temperature series obtained from station observations. For instance, by using remote sensing technology, spatial datasets of land-use, landscape and geometric parameters of the underlying surface in the 5-km buffer zone around the station were established as the MOE factors, and the differences in these MOE factors (DOEFs) between the old and the new stations were calculated to indicate the change induced by urbanization (Shi et al.,
Another approach is numerical modeling, in which numerical simulations are used to study the impact of changes in the MOE caused by urbanization on the meteorological observational elements (Zhang et al., 2002, 2016; Liu and Zhou,
Scale Dependence of the Response of the SAT Series to Changes in the MOE
An appropriate buffer scale is essential for studying the relationship between the SAT series and the three-dimensional morphological characteristics of the MOE. The contribution of the observational bias caused by environmental damage in the surrounding area to the regional climate change signal has large uncertainties at different scales. For example, Gallo et al. (
In the case of the SAT series, the local environment within a few hundred meters of stations can create an unusual microclimate that is not representative of the climate background of the region in which it is located. Other examples are nearby trees reducing the amount of sunlight and wind and stations located on asphalt roads observing a higher SAT than those located on soil and grass. It is therefore crucial to determine the sensitive area of the MOE around a station (Gallo et al.,
Discussion
Two important scientific questions need to be addressed in current researches on the effects of changes in the MOE on urbanization bias: (1) how can we improve the characterization indexes of three-dimensional spatial morphology of MOE; and (2) how can we analyze the non-linear response of urbanization bias to the three-dimensional spatial morphology of the MOE and its scale dependence?
Characterization Indexes of Three-Dimensional Morphology of the MOE
Most studies only use the horizontal parameters of the MOE in remote sensing assessments and lack in-depth research on the internal structural layout. Landscape patterns (Figure 4) can be used to explore the relationship between structural land use layout and the local microclimate (Zhang et al., 2009; Meng et al.,
Figure 4

Schematic diagram of urban landscape patterns around weather stations (cited from Shi et al.,
The impact of urban sprawl on the MOE is not only reflected horizontally, but also vertically as an important part of the spatial structure (Figure 5). Indexes such as the sky visual factor (SVF), the block height to width ratio (BHWR), the floor area ratio (FAR), and Vegetation volume to building volume (VV2BV) are often used to depict vertical morphology within cities (Figure 5), which are expected to provide scientific assessments for the MOE changes and their effects on urban thermal environments (Chen G. et al.,
Figure 5

Schematic diagram of the vertical morphology of the MOE around a weather station.
The subsurface metadata of buildings, trees, roads and water bodies in the station buffer zone that affect the MOE can be established by field measurements and remote sensing, allowing us to retrieve parameters (e.g., the anthropogenic heat flux, land surface temperature and enhanced vegetation index) in the area around the station. Landscape pattern software (Fragstats) can be used to calculate the maximum number of patches, the average fractal dimension, the sprawl index and the distance from the station to the urban center for the land types around the station, reflecting the geographical characteristics and patterns of different land use types. For three-dimensional information about the MOE (Figure 6), the software can automatically read online map information and visual interpretations of high-resolution remote sensing images to obtain building height information. The software can then calculate the regional volume ratio around the station, the SVF, the BHWR and other urban vertical morphology parameters, extracting the characterization index system of the three-dimensional morphology of the MOE (Figure 6).
Figure 6

Indexes used to characterize the three-dimensional morphology of the MOE at the local scale. AH, anthropogenic heat; LST, land surface temperature; LUCC, land use and cover change; SVF, sky visual factor; BHWR, block height to width ratio; FAR, floor area ration; VV2BV, vegetation volume to building volume; CONTAG, contagion index; LPI, largest patch index; FRAC_MN, mean fractal dimension.
Non-linear Response of Urbanization Bias to the Three-Dimensional Morphology of the MOE and Its Scale Dependence
With the continuous development of high-performance computers and numerical simulation algorithms, researchers have increasingly used numerical modeling techniques to simulate the characteristics of urban climates (Zhang et al., 2002, 2016; Li L. et al.,
The Weather Research and Forecasting model has a comprehensive physical scheme to describe various complex climate phenomena and can analyze the climate characteristics of cities at the local scale. This model can propose policy recommendations and improvement strategies for urban construction, planning and management (Zhang et al., 2002; Fei et al.,
Statistical modeling is also an important method of studying the drivers of urbanization bias at different scales. The random forest algorithm is a natural non-linear modeling method suitable for analyzing complex datasets with a large number of unknown features. This method can be used to predict and analyze the intrinsic association of variables and to perform importance and local dependence analysis of independent variables (Genuer,
Summary
In the context of the current rapid increase in urbanization, studies of the impact of changes in the MOE on the urbanization bias in SAT series are of great scientific significance in monitoring regional and global climate change. These studies can also meet practical operational needs, such as the detection and revision of the asymptotic inhomogeneity of meteorological data, the standardized preparation of benchmark meteorological data, the environmental assessment of national meteorological stations, and the site selection and overall optimization of the layout of meteorological observational stations. Studies of the influence of changes in the MOE on urbanization bias in SAT series involve knowledge of urban meteorology, urban geography and the urban environment, as well as urban planning, architecture, landscape architecture and other disciplines. However, current research is mostly limited to a single discipline, resulting in relatively limited research findings. By effectively coupling multiple technical methods (e.g., machine learning, remote sensing and numerical models), we will be able to gain a greater understanding of the non-linear response of urbanization bias to the three-dimensional morphology of the MOE and its scale dependence.
Funding
This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (42105147 and 42175098). The data that support the findings of this study are openly available. The Meteorological Information Centre of the China Meteorological Administration provided the meteorological data (http://data.cma.cn/site/index.html) and the remote sensing data used in this study were Landsat data from the United States' EOS (Earth Observation System) refined by Department of Earth System Science/Institute for Global Change Studies Tsinghua University (http://data.ess.tsinghua.edu.cn/).
Publisher's Note
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Statements
Author contributions
TS: methodology, formal analysis, results and discussion, and writing—original draft preparation. DS, YH, and CS: discussion and writing—reviewing and editing. YY: conceptualization, data curation, methodology, results and discussion, and writing—reviewing and editing. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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Summary
Keywords
meteorological observational environment, urbanization bias, regional warming, scale dependency, spatial morphology
Citation
Shi T, Yang Y, Sun D, Huang Y and Shi C (2022) Influence of Changes in Meteorological Observational Environment on Urbanization Bias in Surface Air Temperature: A Review. Front. Clim. 3:781999. doi: 10.3389/fclim.2021.781999
Received
23 September 2021
Accepted
08 December 2021
Published
20 January 2022
Volume
3 - 2021
Edited by
Roger Rodrigues Torres, Federal University of Itajubá, Brazil
Reviewed by
Arcilan Assireu, Federal University of Itajubá, Brazil; Weber Andrade Gonçalves, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
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© 2022 Shi, Yang, Sun, Huang and Shi.
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*Correspondence: Yuanjian Yang yyj1985@nuist.edu.cn
This article was submitted to Climate Risk Management, a section of the journal Frontiers in Climate
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