Urbanization effects on the air temperature rise in Saudi Arabia

We study the possible effects of urbanization on the rise of air temperature in Saudi Arabia for the period 1981-2010. The effects of variations in elevation and marine temperature on the air temperature trend are also investigated. Surface air temperature data are analyzed for 24 sites which are mostly located at the airports across the country. The population data for the current (2010) and earlier (2004 and 1992) censuses are used for the nearest cities where the observation sites are located. A national average is calculated using two different approaches (simple averaging and weighted according to area for 1985-2010 when all stations are available) which gives trends of 0.60 and 0.51 A degrees C/decade respectively, both significant at the 99 % level. We find no link between the temperature increase and population increase nor with elevation at the 24 sites which are mostly located in the urban effected area but not at the city centers. This suggests that the rise in air temperature is not likely due to urbanization changes resulting from the population increases.