Mapping Monthly Temperature Normals Across North Korea at a Landscape Scale

• Published in: Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology Vol. 13; no. 1
• Main Authors: Kim, S.O., National Center for Agro-Meteorology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea, Yun, J.I., Kyung Hee University, Yongin, Republic of Korea
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 01.03.2011
• Subjects: DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA; Digital climate map; GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS; REPUBLICA POPULAR DEMOCRATICA DE COREA; REPUBLIQUE POPULAIRE DEMOCRATIQUE DE COREE; SISTEMAS DE INFORMACION GEOGRAFICA; SYSTEME D'INFORMATION GEOGRAPHIQUE; TEMPERATURA; TEMPERATURE
• ISSN: 1229-5671

This study was carried out to estimate monthly mean of daily maximum and minimum temperature across North Korea at a 30 m grid spacing for a climatological normal year (1971-2000) and the 4 decadal averages (1971-1980, 1981-1990, 1991-2000, and 2001-2010). A geospatial climate interpolation method, which has been successfully used to produce the so-called 'High-Definition Digital Climate Maps' (HD-DCM), was used in conjunction with the 27 North Korean and 17 South Korean synoptic data. Correction modules including local effects of cold air drainage, thermal belt, ocean, solar irradiance and urban heat island were applied to adjust the synoptic temperature data in addition to the lapse rate correction. According to the final temperature estimates for a normal year, North Korean winter is expected colder than South Korean winter by 7℃ in average, while the spatial mean summer temperature is lower by 3℃ than that for South Korea. Warming trend in North Korea for the recent 40 years (1971-2010) was most remarkable in spring and fall, showing a 7.4% increase in the land area with 15 or higher daily maximum temperature for April.