Exploring the possible effect of anthropogenic heat release due to global energy consumption upon global climate: a climate model study

The high-resolution global distribution of anthropogenic heat release (AHR), which is generated by human energy consumption, is estimated by means of applying satellite remote sensing. Additionally, it was considered into a global climate model and the possible climatic effect of AHR is examined in this study. AHR is geographically concentrated and fundamentally correlates with economic activity in global scale. The current mean AHR flux on the global scale is approximately 0.03 Wm(-2); however, the flux reaches a level high enough to influence the regional climate in concentrated urban areas. Global climate model results indicate that AHR may disrupt the normal atmospheric circulation and could have an obvious effect on the surface temperature at middle and high latitudes in summer and winter over the Northern Hemisphere. The climatic effect of AHR differs in various seasons: the global mean surface temperature could increase by approximately 0.02 K in boreal summer and by 0.10 K in boreal winter. With the continued development of the global economy and urbanization, the climatic effect of AHR will become increasingly pronounced. The climatic effect of AHR should not be merely confined to the regional climate, AHR is a tiny but essential factor in global climate and long-term climate change that should not be ignored.