CHARACTERISTICS OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN CHANGJIANG DELTA AND ITS POSSIBLE MECHANISM

Characteristics of climate change in the Changjiang Delta were analyzed based on the annualmean meteorological data since 1961,including air temperature,maximum and minimum airtemperature,precipitation,sunshine duration and visibility at 48 stations in that area(southernJiangsu and northern Zhejiang),and its adjacent areas(northern Jiangsu,eastern Anhui andsouthern Zhejiang),together with the environmental data.The results indicate that it is gettingwarmer in the Changjiang Delta and cooler in adjacent areas,thus the Changjiang Delta becomes a bigheat island,containing many little heat islands consisting of central cities,in which Shanghai City isthe strongest heat island.The intensity of heat islands enhances as economic development goes up.From the year 1978.the beginning year of reform and opening policy,to the year 1997,the intensityof big heat island of Changjiang Delta has increased 0.5℃ and Shanghai heat island increased 0.8℃.However.since 1978 the constituents of SO,NOand TSP(total suspended particles)in theatmosphere,no matter whether in the Changjiang Delta or in the adjacent areas,have all increased,but pH values of precipitation decreased.In the meantime,both sunshine duration and visibility arealso decreased,indicating that there exists a mechanism for climate cooling in these areas.Ouranalyses show that the mechanism for climate warming in the Changjiang Delta may be associatedwith heating increase caused by,economic development and increasing energy consumption.It isestimated that up to 1997 the intensity of warming caused by this mechanism in the Changjiang Deltahas reached 0.8—0.9℃,about 4—4.5 times as large as the mean values before 1978.Since then,the increase rate has become 0. 035℃/a for the Changjiang Delta.It has reached 1.3℃ for Shanghaiin 1997,about 12—13 times as large as the mean values before 1978.This is a rough estimation ofincreasing energy consumption rate caused by economic development.