Paper
Satellite-based Equitable Ranking of the World’s Hottest and Coldest Cities Reveals Inequitable Distribution of Temperature Extremes
Published Jun 15, 2023 · Weilin Liao, Hu Fu, Jiufeng Li
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
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Abstract
The identification of the world’s hottest and coldest cities fascinates both the public and academia. However, the ranking of city temperatures, especially from the perspective of human discomfort, remains highly controversial. Here we estimated the monthly mean maximum and minimum 1-km resolution urban temperatures of 13,135 cities worldwide (2003 – 2019) from the thermal discomfort perspective by combining in situ measurements, satellite-based land surface temperatures, fine-resolution intra-city data, and reanalysis data. Manama, Bahrain was identified as the hottest city (48.18 ± 1.31°C) and Yakutsk, Russia (– 42.96 ± 0.72°C) as the coldest city. The global city temperatures followed a power law pattern, characterised by cities with < 0.3 million inhabitants covering 80% of the top 20% global cities with extreme temperatures. Our study reveals an inequitable pattern of global city temperature extremes and highlights the urgency of developing appropriate strategies to reduce climate change risks in small-and medium-sized cities with low development levels.
Manama, Bahrain, is the hottest city and Yakutsk, Russia, the coldest city, with cities under 0.3 million inhabitants experiencing 80% of the top 20% global temperatures with extreme temperatures.
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