Temporal changes in extreme high temperature, heat waves and relevant disasters in Nanjing metropolitan region, China

The urban heat environment in Nanjing metropolitan region is significantly affected by human activities. The days of high temperature and heat waves became increasingly obvious. Therefore, this paper aimed to reveal the temporal changes in high temperature and heat waves and analyze the relevant disasters. The results showed that the duration and average high temperature were both increasing during 1951–2013. Days of heat waves were mainly concentrated in August. The longest duration of extreme heat was in 2013 lasting 9 days. The major issues caused by high temperature and heat waves were energy consumption, power shortage, human health and human habitat deterioration. Land use change driven by human activities altered the underlying surface and accelerated urban heat island effect. These views provide scientific evidence for assisting urban planning and industrial restructuring in the future.