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Analysis of surface air temperature warming rate of China in the last 50 years (1962–2011) using k-means clustering

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Abstract

Using observed surface temperature data from about 570 meteorological stations in China, the linear temperature trend over the last 50 years (1962–2011) is estimated. Average warming rates at all stations are 0.284 ± 0.142, 0.200 ± 0.163, and 0.392 ± 0.193 °C/10 a for annual, June–July–August (JJA), and December–January–February (DJF) mean temperatures, respectively. The warming rates (°C/a) have a regressed slope of 0.001 with latitude, and their relationship with latitude using data from stations below 1,000 m altitude is estimated at 0.009 °C/(10 a · degree). A k-means clustering is constructed using correlation coefficients to quantify the closeness. The clustering schemes with k = 5 and k = 10 are successfully implemented for annual, DJF, and JJA mean temperatures. The k = 10 scheme showed greater ability to distinguish different locations than the k = 5 clustering. In both schemes, the mean estimated warming rates are averaged over stations in each cluster. The clusters in DJF are much different than those for the entire year and for JJA. The average warming rate in each cluster is estimated and compared. Using stations in the cluster of high-elevation southeast Tibetan Plateau, the relationship between warming rates and altitude is estimated at 1.0 × 10−2 °C/(10 a · 100 m).

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Acknowledgments

This work is financially supported by Projects of National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant number 41105074 and 41275108), the Open Research Fund of Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Center for Earth Observation and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant number 2011LDE010), and the Scientific Research Fund of Henan Polytechnic University (grant number B2011-038).

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Correspondence to Liu Yonghe.

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Jinming, F., Yonghe, L. & Zhongwei, Y. Analysis of surface air temperature warming rate of China in the last 50 years (1962–2011) using k-means clustering. Theor Appl Climatol 120, 785–796 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-014-1216-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-014-1216-x

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