A study on temperature distribution influenced by various land uses

This report discuss the relationship between air temperature and land uses, using data from the west of Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan. The relationship is based on a regression analysis between air temperature and land uses. The air temperature changes due to the height above sea level is also analyzed. Land uses are classified into four categories: (i) man-made areas; (ii) agricultural land; (iii) woods and forests; and (4) water areas. The results of the study showed that the man-made areas tended to raise the air temperature and the agricultural area to lower it, that the influence of woods and forests on temperature is small, and that areas of water intensely influence the minimum temperature. The effect due to altitude has been considered as 0.6 degrees C per 100 m, similar to temperature change (0.6 degrees C/100m) with height. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.