Asymmetric shifts in precipitation due to urbanization across global cities
Abstract Urbanization alters precipitation patterns by modifying thermal, dynamic, and chemical processes in the atmosphere. However, its effect on precipitation regimes, particularly at the sub-daily scale, is poorly understood. In this work, we use a high-resolution, spatially continuous satellite...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61053-0 |
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| _version_ | 1849769390710456320 |
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| author | Jinghua Xiong Yuting Yang Long Yang Dawen Yang |
| author_facet | Jinghua Xiong Yuting Yang Long Yang Dawen Yang |
| author_sort | Jinghua Xiong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Urbanization alters precipitation patterns by modifying thermal, dynamic, and chemical processes in the atmosphere. However, its effect on precipitation regimes, particularly at the sub-daily scale, is poorly understood. In this work, we use a high-resolution, spatially continuous satellite precipitation dataset to examine urbanization-induced shifts across precipitation intensities over global cities. We show that urbanization generally causes asymmetric shifts, increasing lower-intensity events and decreasing higher-intensity ones, with distinct patterns in tropical monsoon regions. These shifts, primarily driven by changes in event frequency, lead to reduced precipitation variability in urban areas, particularly in temperate cities and those exhibiting higher urbanization levels. Sub-daily analysis reveals that lower-intensity precipitation most notably increases in the early morning, while higher-intensity events decrease in the late afternoon, dampening diurnal precipitation variability. These findings offer important observational evidence of how urbanization alters precipitation regimes and highlight the need for adaptive urban water management strategies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c91f68f4c4414e76ae41daef48fc5f56 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-c91f68f4c4414e76ae41daef48fc5f562025-08-20T03:03:25ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-07-0116111110.1038/s41467-025-61053-0Asymmetric shifts in precipitation due to urbanization across global citiesJinghua Xiong0Yuting Yang1Long Yang2Dawen Yang3State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityState Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering, Tsinghua UniversitySchool of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityAbstract Urbanization alters precipitation patterns by modifying thermal, dynamic, and chemical processes in the atmosphere. However, its effect on precipitation regimes, particularly at the sub-daily scale, is poorly understood. In this work, we use a high-resolution, spatially continuous satellite precipitation dataset to examine urbanization-induced shifts across precipitation intensities over global cities. We show that urbanization generally causes asymmetric shifts, increasing lower-intensity events and decreasing higher-intensity ones, with distinct patterns in tropical monsoon regions. These shifts, primarily driven by changes in event frequency, lead to reduced precipitation variability in urban areas, particularly in temperate cities and those exhibiting higher urbanization levels. Sub-daily analysis reveals that lower-intensity precipitation most notably increases in the early morning, while higher-intensity events decrease in the late afternoon, dampening diurnal precipitation variability. These findings offer important observational evidence of how urbanization alters precipitation regimes and highlight the need for adaptive urban water management strategies.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61053-0 |
| spellingShingle | Jinghua Xiong Yuting Yang Long Yang Dawen Yang Asymmetric shifts in precipitation due to urbanization across global cities Nature Communications |
| title | Asymmetric shifts in precipitation due to urbanization across global cities |
| title_full | Asymmetric shifts in precipitation due to urbanization across global cities |
| title_fullStr | Asymmetric shifts in precipitation due to urbanization across global cities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Asymmetric shifts in precipitation due to urbanization across global cities |
| title_short | Asymmetric shifts in precipitation due to urbanization across global cities |
| title_sort | asymmetric shifts in precipitation due to urbanization across global cities |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61053-0 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jinghuaxiong asymmetricshiftsinprecipitationduetourbanizationacrossglobalcities AT yutingyang asymmetricshiftsinprecipitationduetourbanizationacrossglobalcities AT longyang asymmetricshiftsinprecipitationduetourbanizationacrossglobalcities AT dawenyang asymmetricshiftsinprecipitationduetourbanizationacrossglobalcities |