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The Increase in the Proportion of Impervious Surfaces and Changes in Air Temperature, Relative Humidity and Cloud Cover in Poland

Krzysztof Bartoszek
Krzysztof Bartoszek
, 
Wojciech Łachowski
Wojciech Łachowski
 and 
Dorota Matuszko
Dorota Matuszko
   | Dec 25, 2022
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Published Online: Dec 25, 2022
Page range: 25 - 41
Received: May 06, 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14746/quageo-2023-0003
Keywords
© 2023 Krzysztof Bartoszek et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Fig. 1

Location of the weather stations.
Location of the weather stations.

Fig. 2

Proportion of impervious surfaces in Poland by communes in (A) 1990, (B) 2000, (C) 2010 and (D) 2020.
Proportion of impervious surfaces in Poland by communes in (A) 1990, (B) 2000, (C) 2010 and (D) 2020.

Fig. 3

Changes in the imperviousness index in Poland in percentage points (pp) by communes in 1990–2020.
Changes in the imperviousness index in Poland in percentage points (pp) by communes in 1990–2020.

Fig. 4

Bartoszyce – before and after revitalisation.
Bartoszyce – before and after revitalisation.

Fig. 5

The average (A) maximum air temperature, (B) low-level cloud cover and (C) relative humidity in the warm part of the year (April–September) in the period 1991–2020.
The average (A) maximum air temperature, (B) low-level cloud cover and (C) relative humidity in the warm part of the year (April–September) in the period 1991–2020.

Fig. 6

The magnitude (slope value) and statistical significance of linear trends of (A) maximum air temperature, (B) low-level cloud cover and (C) relative humidity in the warm part of the year (April–September of 1991–2020).
The magnitude (slope value) and statistical significance of linear trends of (A) maximum air temperature, (B) low-level cloud cover and (C) relative humidity in the warm part of the year (April–September of 1991–2020).

Fig 7

The slope of increase in average air temperature and decrease in relative air humidity in the period 2001–2020 compared to the years 1981–2000 at various altitudes in the troposphere (averaged values for Poland).
The slope of increase in average air temperature and decrease in relative air humidity in the period 2001–2020 compared to the years 1981–2000 at various altitudes in the troposphere (averaged values for Poland).

Fig. 8

The multi-annual variability of the average (A) maximum air temperature, (B) low-level cloud cover and (C) relative humidity in the warm part of the year (1991–2020) in the selected areas.
The multi-annual variability of the average (A) maximum air temperature, (B) low-level cloud cover and (C) relative humidity in the warm part of the year (1991–2020) in the selected areas.

Fig 9

Percentage magnitude of changes in the maximum temperature, low-level cloudiness and relative air humidity between the decades (averaged values for the 10 cities).
Percentage magnitude of changes in the maximum temperature, low-level cloudiness and relative air humidity between the decades (averaged values for the 10 cities).

Fig. 10

The quantile classification of the frequency of occurrence of certain types of clouds (averaged values for the 10 cities).
The quantile classification of the frequency of occurrence of certain types of clouds (averaged values for the 10 cities).

The linear temporal trend slopes of the average area-wise values of air temperature and relative humidity at 2 m AGL and at different isobaric levels in Poland in the years 1981–2020.

Pressure levels (hPa) Unit April–September
2 m AGL 850 700 500 300
Air temperature [°C per 10 years] 0.49* 0.40* 0.38* 0.43* 0.37*
Relative humidity [% per 10 years] −1.25* −1.28* −1.86* −2.44* −2.90*

Proportion (%) of changes in impervious surface in selected cities in Poland in the years 1991–2020 in percentage points.

City Imperviousness index Change [%]
1991 2001 2011 2020 1991–2000 2001–2010 2011–2020
Białystok 38.1 40.4 43.5 47.2 2.3 3.1 3.7
Gorzów 25.5 26.1 29.4 31.4 0.6 3.3 2.0
Katowice 32.2 32.3 34.1 34.9 0.1 1.8 0.8
Kielce 28.6 29.0 31.2 32.3 0.4 2.2 1.1
Kraków 32.3 32.7 36.6 37.5 0.4 3.9 0.9
Lublin 29.4 31.5 34.4 37.6 2.1 2.9 3.2
Łódź 32.4 32.7 34.4 36.2 0.3 1.7 1.8
Poznań 35.4 36.3 38.8 41.3 0.9 2.5 2.5
Toruń 28.0 29.3 32.9 34.8 1.3 3.6 1.9
Warszawa 41.9 43.2 46.7 47.5 1.3 3.5 0.9
Lesko 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.5 0.1 0.1 0.2

Average relative air humidity in individual decades and the magnitude of its changes in the area of the analysed cities in the warm part of the year (April–September).

City Mean f Change
1981–1990 1991–2000 2001–2010 2011–2020 1991–2000 compared to 1981–1990 2001–2010 compared to 1991–2000 2011–2020 compared to 2001–2010
[%] [%]
Białystok 73.7 73.2 71.7 70.5 –0.6 –2.1 –1.6
Gorzów 72.8 72.6 70.1 67.8 –0.2 –3.6 –3.3
Katowice 73.7 73.2 71.7 70.5 –0.6 –2.1 –1.6
Kielce 76.7 76.6 74.0 73.0 –0.1 –3.4 –1.4
Kraków 75.7 74.8 73.4 72.5 –1.2 –1.9 –1.2
Lublin 77.0 76.3 73.7 72.6 –0.9 –3.5 –1.4
Łódź 74.9 74.8 70.3 70.1 –0.1 –6.2 –0.3
Poznań 72.5 72.4 68.6 66.9 –0.2 –5.3 –2.6
Toruń 73.6 72.1 70.1 68.9 –2.0 –2.8 –1.7
Warszawa 74.7 74.6 70.1 67.6 –0.2 –6.2 –3.7
Lesko 78.7 78.2 77.7 76.0 –0.6 –0.6 –2.2

Cities included in the study, their geographic location, area and population in 2019 (GUS 2020).

City Altitude Latitude Longitude Area Population
[m a.s.l.] [degree] [km2] x 103
Białystok 148 53°06′26″ 23°09′44″ 102 297.6
Gorzów 72 52°44′28″ 15°16′38″ 86 123.6
Katowice 278 50°14′26″ 19°01′58″ 165 292.8
Kielce 260 50°48′38″ 20°41′32″ 110 194.9
Kraków 237 50°04′40″ 19°47′42″ 327 779.1
Lublin 193 51°13′00″ 22°23′35″ 148 339.8
Łódź 180 51°43′06″ 19°23′14″ 293 679.9
Poznań 88 52°25′00″ 16°50′05″ 262 534.8
Toruń 69 53°02′31″ 18°35′44″ 116 201.4
Warszawa 106 52°09′46″ 20°57′40″ 517 1790.7
Lesko 420 49°27′59″ 22°20′30″ 15 5.4

Changes in impervious surface (IS) in Poland in the years 1991–2020.

Index 1991 2001 2011 2020
ISs in km2 – municipalities 3093 3199 3445 3475
ISs in km2 – rural communes 2479 2652 2976 3517
ISs in km2 – municipal–rural communes 2109 2218 2445 2762
ISs in km2 – total 7682 8069 8866 9954
ISs share in % – total 2.46 2.58 2.84 3.2
Average annual growth in % – total 0.51 0.99 1.63
Increase in % – total 5.1 9.9 16.3
Total for the years 1991–2020 29.9

The average maximum temperature Tmax in individual decades and the magnitude of its changes in the areas of the analysed cities in the warm part of the year (April–September).

City Average Tmax Change
1981–1990 1991–2000 2001–2010 2011–2020 1991–2000 compared to 1981–1990 2001–2010 compared to 1991–2000 2011–2020 compared to 2001–2010
[°C] [%]
Białystok 19.8 20.5 21.3 21.6 +3.4 +4.0 +1.6
Gorzów 19.7 20.4 21.2 21.5 +3.1 +3.9 +1.5
Katowice 19.8 20.4 21.2 21.6 +3.1 +3.6 +2.2
Kielce 19.5 20.1 21.1 21.6 +3.0 +4.4 +2.5
Kraków 20.0 20.7 21.5 21.9 +3.5 +3.8 +1.9
Lublin 19.2 19.7 20.6 21.2 +2.7 +4.5 +2.6
Łódź 19.8 20.2 21.0 21.5 +1.8 +4.3 +2.2
Poznań 20.0 20.6 21.5 21.8 +2.9 +4.5 +1.5
Toruń 20.0 20.5 21.2 21.8 +2.8 +3.5 +2.5
Warszawa 20.0 20.3 21.2 21.8 +1.9 +4.4 +2.7
Lesko 18.6 19.3 20.0 20.7 +3.8 +3.6 +3.3

Average low-level cloudiness in individual decades and the magnitude of its changes in the analysed cities in the warm part of the year (April–September).

City Average low-level cloudiness (%) Change
1981–1990 1991–2000 2001–2010 2011–2020 1991–2000 compared to 1981–1990 2001–2010 compared to 1991–2000 2011–2020 compared to 2001–2010
[%] [%]
Białystok 47.6 47.9 46.2 45.6 +0.5 −3.6 −1.2
Gorzów 48.4 49.0 43.9 40.6 +1.2 −10.9 −7.9
Katowice 47.0 47.9 46.2 45.5 +1.8 −3.6 −1.5
Kielce 46.8 46.2 42.4 39.4 −1.3 −8.5 −7.5
Kraków 44.1 42.3 40.0 39.0 −4.3 −5.5 −2.6
Lublin 45.7 44.7 42.6 41.4 −2.1 −4.8 −2.6
Łódź 45.0 46.2 43.1 41.7 +2.6 −7.0 −3.2
Poznań 44.0 43.5 40.7 39.9 −1.0 −6.7 −2.1
Toruń 48.1 47.9 43.0 42.2 −0.5 −10.8 −1.9
Warszawa 48.1 47.9 43.0 42.2 −4.2 −5.5 −2.9
Lesko 54.4 54.6 52.4 48.0 +0.8 −4.0 −8.8
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