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Extreme weather and climate events tend to increase and strengthen as global warming intensifies, which severely affect human life and sustainable economic development. Therefore, based on the Detection and Attribution Model Intercomparison Project (DAMIP) and the Land Use Model Intercomparison Project (LUMIP) provided by the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6), the optimal fingerprinting method is applied to quantify the greenhouse gases (GHG), aerosols (AA), natural forcing (NAT), and land use/cover change (LUCC) contributions to the intensity, frequency, and duration of extreme temperatures in China during 1960—2020. The results show that GHG is the main driver of extreme temperature changes in China, except for ice days (ID0) and cold spells (CSDI). GHG causes an increase in warm spells (WSDI) by about 10 days and an extension of the growing season length (GSL) by 6 to 8 days. The Tibetan Plateau is the region with the strongest extreme temperature changes influenced by GHG. AA forcing has a cooling effect that partially offsets the warming effect of GHG, especially in southeastern China. It should be pointed out that AA forcing is also the main driver for the changes in diurnal temperature range (DTR) in southeastern China, which exceeds the GHG contribution. Additionally, LUCC has greater impact in nighttime extreme temperature indices changes than the regional AA, and becomes the second dominant factor beside GHG. LUCC leads to an attributable cooling contribution of 0.34 °C for the maximum of daily minimum temperatures (TNx). Spatially, the LUCC effects on extreme temperature changes are stronger in western China than in eastern China. The more robust estimation of the GHG, AA, NAT, and LUCC contributions over distinct regions provides an advanced understanding of anthropogenic impacts on regional extreme temperatures, which is expected to be an important reference for regional climate change adaptation and mitigation. [Display omitted] • Tibetan Plateau is the region with the strongest extreme temperature changes influenced by greenhouse gases (GHG). • GHG displays a nonuniformity effect on the changes in the extreme temperature frequency. • Land use/cover change (LUCC) has a stronger role in nighttime extreme temperature indices changes than the regional AA. • The LUCC effects on extreme temperature changes are stronger in western China than in eastern China • The LUCC effects on extreme temperature show asymmetrical characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban form is increasingly being recognised by scientists for the potential role it might play in the coordination of sustainable urban development and the reduction of CO 2 emissions. However, despite increasing interest in the morphology of cities in climate change science, few quantitative estimates have been made of the effects of urban form on CO 2 emissions. The goal of this study is to quantify this relation, using panel data for China’s 30 provincial capital cities from 1990 to 2010. In order to meet this aim, we first selected a series of urban form indicators, which we quantified by applying spatial metrics to remotely sensed data. We then estimated CO 2 emission levels using a unified standard method recommended by the IPCC Guidelines, and subsequently performed a panel data analysis. The results of the study demonstrated a positive correlation between the growth of urban areas and CO 2 emission levels. Further, it was also found that increased “urban continuity” led to reductions in CO 2 emissions and that, conversely, increased “urban shape complexity” exerted a positive influence in relation to CO 2 emissions. The findings of this study indicate that measures to make existing cities in China more compact may in fact help to reduce levels of CO 2 emissions, just as increasing fragmentation or increased irregularity with respect to urban form may contribute to increased CO 2 emissions. If serious about achieving meaningful reductions in CO 2 emissions, decision makers and planners should take urban form into consideration when developing low-carbon cities in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]