Spatiotemporal Variations of Cloud Amount over the Yangtze River Delta, China

Based on the NOAA's Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Pathfinder Atmospheres Extended (PATMOS-x) monthly mean cloud amount data, variations of annual and seasonal mean cloud amount over the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), China were examined for the period 1982-2006 by using a linear regression analysis. Both total and high-level cloud amounts peak in June and reach minimum in December, mid-level clouds have a peak during winter months and reach a minimum in summer, and low-level clouds vary weakly throughout the year with a weak maximum from August to October. For the annual mean cloud amount, a slightly decreasing tendency (-0.6% sky cover per decade) of total cloud amount is observed during the studying period, which is mainly due to the reduction of annual mean high-level cloud amount (-2.2% sky cover per decade). Mid-level clouds occur least (approximately 15% sky cover) and remain invariant, while the low-level cloud amount shows a significant increase during spring (1.5% sky cover per decade) and summer (3.0% sky cover per decade). Further analysis has revealed that the increased low-level clouds during the summer season are mainly impacted by the local environment. For example, compared to the low-level cloud amounts over the adjacent rural areas (e.g., cropland, large water body, and mountain areas covered by forest), those over and around urban agglomerations rise more dramatically.