Warm island effect observed in lake areas of the Badain Jaran Desert, China

A warm island effect was found in the lakeland region of the Badain Jaran Desert, which challenges the expected cold island effect. Specifically, the lake region winter air temperature is significantly higher than other regions of the desert. Warm island intensity is negatively correlated with solar radiation, and is proportional to the lake surface area. It is thought that the warm island effect is mainly caused by the thermal storage of water in lake basins and the release of heat from deep groundwater.