우리나라 건조도 지표로서 실효습도의 공간분포 특징과 변화에 관한 연구

Abstract

Due to the global warming, hot and dry days are becoming more frequent even in the humid climate area exposing to fire-prone weather conditions. In this study, we analyzed spatial distributions and changes of effective humidity (EH) which is calculated using daily mean relative humidity to identify the changing trend of dryness in the Republic of Korea. The annual mean EH was higher along the western coast than the eastern one and annual mean EH decreased in Korea. As EH was very low along the eastern coast areas in winter and spring, the atmosphere in this area became very dry. Also, spring and winter EH showed a significant decrease at most of stations. The annual mean number of days with daily EH 35% or less, which is an extreme EH event, increased from the west to the east. The annual mean extreme EH days showed a statistically significant increase at 45 stations indicating enhancing the dryness in the eastern part. Although EH is a good indicator of the dryness in the atmosphere, it is not enough to determine initiation and spread of a forest fire. Therefore, an index that takes into account wind speeds, precipitation, and temperature will be needed.