AsianScientist (Aug. 25, 2015) – The influx of tourists into the holiday town of Sanya during the Chinese new year (CNY) holiday can cause a discernible rise in temperature, according to a study published in Science Bulletin.
Tourism is a vital contributor to China’s and global economies. In the past decades, the number of the tourists has undergone a rapid growth in China and the world. The tourist arrivals are expected to be more than 4.1 billion in the whole of 2015. The climate has a great impact on the tourism, yet it remains unclear whether the tourism can affect urban climate.
Professor Zhang Jingyong and Dr. Wu Lingyun from Institute of Atmospheric Physics of Chinese Academy of Sciences took Sanya city as an example to show that the tourism can significantly enhance the urban heat island (UHI) intensities during the CNY holiday.
The results show that during the CNY week, there is an increase in ambient temperatures of the island along with the influx of tourist to enjoy the warm southern weather. The UHI effects are quantified by looking at the mean, maximum and minimum temperature difference between urban and non-urban areas over 1995-2004. They observed a significant increase during the CNY week compared to background period (four weeks before and after CNY).
The increased number of tourists in the urban area of Sanya City leads to more human activities, which result in more anthropogenic heat emissions. This affects other processes which significantly increases the UHI effects during the CNY holiday. The results offer scientific support for urban design and planning, and management of popular cities for visitors.
The article can be found at: Zhang et al. (2015) Modulation of the Urban Heat Island by the Tourism During the Chinese New Year Holiday: a Case Study in Sanya City, Hainan Province of China.
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Source: Chinese Academy of Sciences; Photo: See-ming Lee/Flickr/CC.
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