Changing Trends of Daily Temperature Extremes with Different Intensities in China

By comparing two sets of quality-controlled daily temperature observation data with and without the inhomogeneity test and adjustment from 654 stations in China during 1956-2004 and 1956-2010, impacts of inhomogeneity on changing trends of four percentile temperature extreme indices, including occurrences of cold days, cold nights, warm days, and warm nights with varying intensities, were discussed. It is found that the inhomogeneity affected the long-term trends averaged over extensive regions limitedly. In order to minimize the inhomogeneity impact, the 83 stations identified with obvious inhomogeneity impacts were removed, and an updated analysis of changing trends of the four temperature extreme indices with varying intensities during 1956-2010 was conducted. The results show that annual occurrences of both cold nights and cold days decreased greatly while those of warm nights and warm days increased significantly during the recent 20 years. The more extreme the event is, the greater the magnitude of changing trends for the temperature extreme index is. An obvious increasing trend was observed in annual occurrences of cold days and cold nights in the recent four years. The magnitude of changing trends of warm extreme indices was greater than that of cold extreme indices, and it was greater in northern China than in southern China. Trends for summer occurrence of cold days were not significant. Decreasing trends of occurrences of both cold nights and cold days were the greatest in December, January, and February (DJF) but the least in June, July, and August (JJA), while increasing trends of warm nights were the greatest in JJA. Cold nights significantly decreased from 1956 to 1990, and then the decreasing trend considerably weakened. The decreasing trend also showed an obvious slowdown in recent years for occurrence of cold days. However, increasing trends of warm nights and warm days both have been accelerated continuously since the recent decades. Further analysis presents that the evolution of the trends for occurrences of the four temperature extreme indices was dominated by the changes in northern China.     

1961-200年中国各季降水趋势变化

Trends in six indices of precipitation in China for seasons during 1961-2007 were analyzed based on daily observations at 587 stations. The trends were estimated by using Sen＇s method with Mann-Kendall＇s test for quantifying the significance. The geographical patterns of trends in the seasonal indices of extremes were similar to those of total precipitation. For winter, both total and extreme precipitation increased over nearly all of China, except for a small part of northern China. Increasing trends in extreme precipitation also occurred at many stations in southwestern China for spring and the midlower reaches of the Yangtze River and southern China for summer. For autumn, precipitation decreased in eastern China, with an increasing length of maximum dry spell, implying a drying tendency for the post-rainy season. Wetting trends have prevailed in most of western China for all seasons. The well-known ＇flood in the south and drought in the north＇ trend exists in eastern China for summer, while a nearly opposite trend pattern exist for spring.     

Trends in Temperature Extremes in Association with Weather-Intraseasonal Fluctuations in Eastern China

Trends in the frequencies of four temperature extremes (the occurrence of warm days, cold days, warm nights and cold nights) with respect to a modulated annual cycle (MAC), and those associated exclusively with weather-intraseasonal fluctuations (WIF) in eastern China were investigated based on an updated homogenized daily maximum and minimum temperature dataset for 1960–2008. The Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD) method was used to isolate the WIF, MAC, and longer-term components from the temperature series. The annual, winter and summer occurrences of warm (cold) nights were found to have increased (decreased) significantly almost everywhere, while those of warm (cold) days have increased (decreased) in northern China (north of 40°N). However, the four temperature extremes associated exclusively with WIF for winter have decreased almost everywhere, while those for summer have decreased in the north but increased in the south. These characteristics agree with changes in the amplitude of WIF. In particular, winter WIF of maximum temperature tended to weaken almost everywhere, especially in eastern coastal areas (by 10%–20%); summer WIF tended to intensify in southern China by 10%–20%. It is notable that in northern China, the occurrence of warm days has increased, even where that associated with WIF has decreased significantly. This suggests that the recent increasing frequency of warm extremes is due to a considerable rise in the mean temperature level, which surpasses the effect of the weakening weather fluctuations in northern China.     

Recent trends in winter temperature extremes in eastern China and their relationship with the Arctic Oscillation and ENSO

Interannual variations in the number of winter extreme warm and cold days over eastern China （EC） and their relationship with the Arctic Oscillation （AO） and E1 Nifio-Southern Oscillation （ENSO） were investigated using an updated temperature dataset comprising 542 Chinese stations during the period 1961- 2011. Results showed that the number of winter extreme warm （cold） days across EC experienced a significant increase （decrease） around the mid-1980s, which could be attributed to interdecadal variation of the East Asian Winter Monsoon （EAWM）. Probability distribution functions （PDFs） of winter temperature extremes in different phases of the AO and ENSO were estimated based on Generalized Extreme Value Distribution theory. Correlation analysis and the PDF technique consistently demonstrated that interannual variation of winter extreme cold days in the northern part of EC （NEC） is closely linked to the AO, while it is most strongly related to the ENSO in the southern part （SEC）. However, the number of winter extreme warm days across EC has little correlation with both AO and ENSO. Furthermore, results indicated that, whether before or after the mid-1980s shift, a significant connection existed between winter extreme cold days in NEC and the AO. However, a significant connection between winter extreme cold days in SEC and the ENSO was only found after the mid-1980s shift. These results highlight the different roles of the AO and ENSO in influencing winter temperature extremes in different parts of EC and in different periods, thus providing important clues for improving short-term climate prediction for winter temperature extremes.     

Patterns of Multiscale Temperature Variability over the Eastern and Central Tibetan Plateau During 1960-2008

Climate variability is an important inherent characteristic of climate and it varies on all timescales. Through examination of temperature variability on multiple temporal scales at 63 stations over the eastern and central Tibetan Plateau （TP） during 1960-2008, we find decreasing trends in daily and intraannual temperature, especially in cold seasons （autumn and winter）. These changes are more sensitive than those in the eastern China coastal region at the same latitude and indicate an asymmetric change of temperature, with hourly, daily, and monthly trends in cold periods stronger than those in warm periods during the recent years. The variation of interannual temperature is complex, showing an increasing trend in autumn and winter and decreasing trend in spring and summer, which is similar to those in the northern polar region. The changes of multiscale variability of temperature are mainly related to changes of atmospheric water vapor, cloudiness, anthropogenic aerosols, monsoon-driven climate, and some local factors. To find the influences of local conditions on temperature variability, we analyze the effects of altitude, topography, and urbanization. The results show that elevation is strongly and positively related to diurnal temperature range （DTR） and slightly positively related to interannual temperature variability （IVT）, but intraannual temperature variability shows no clear elevation dependency. Topography and urbanization also play important roles in multiscale temperature variability. Finally, strong relationships are observed between temperature variability on each scale and different extreme indices.     

A Simulation Study on the Extreme Temperature Events of the 20th Century by Using the BCC_AGCM

Extreme temperature events are simulated by using the Beijing Climate Center Atmospheric General Circulation Model (BCC AGCM) in this paper. The model has been run for 136 yr with the observed external forcing data including solar insolation, greenhouse gases, and monthly sea surface temperature (SST). The daily maximum and minimum temperatures are simulated by the model, and 16 indices representing various extreme temperature events are calculated based on these two variables. The results show that the maximum of daily maximum temperature (TXX), maximum of daily minimum (TNX), minimum of daily maximum (TXN), minimum of daily minimum (TNN), warm days (TX90p), warm nights (TN90p), summer days (SU25), tropical nights (TR20), and warm spell duration index (WSDI) have increasing trends during the 20th century in most regions of the world, while the cold days (TX10p), cold nights (TN10p), and cold spell duration index (CSDI) have decreasing trends. The probability density function (PDF) of warm/cold days/nights for three periods of 1881-1950, 1951- 1978, and 1979-2003 is examined. It is found that before 1950, the cold day/night has the largest probability, while for the period of 1979-2003, it has the smallest probability. In contrast to the decreasing trend of cold days/nights, the PDF of warm days/nights exhibits an opposite trend. In addition, the frost days (FD) and ice days (ID) have decreasing trends, the growing season has lengthened, and the diurnal temperature range is getting smaller during the 20th century. A comparison of the above extreme temperature indices between the model output and NCEP data (taken as observation) for 1948-2000 indicates that the mean values and the trends of the simulated indices are close to the observations, and overall there is a high correlation between the simulated indices and the observations. But the simulated trends of FD, ID, growing season length, and diurnal temperature range are not consistent with the observations and their correlations are low or even negative. This indicates that the model is incapable to simulate these four indices although it has captured most indices of the extreme temperature events.     

Long-Term Trends in Extreme Temperatures in Hong Kong and Southern China

The observed long-term trends in extreme temperatures in Hong Kong were studied based on the meteorological data recorded at the Hong Kong Observatory Headquarters from 1885-2008. Results show that, over the past 124 years, the extreme daily minimum and maximum temperatures, as well as the length of the warm spell in Hong Kong, exhibit statistically significant long-term rising trends, while the length of the cold spell shows a statistically significant decreasing trend. The time-dependent return period analysis also indicated that the return period for daily minimum temperature at 4°C or lower lengthened considerably from 6 years in 1900 to over 150 years in 2000, while the return periods for daily maximum temperature reaching 35°C or above shortened drastically from 32 years in 1900 to 4.5 years in 2000. Past trends in extreme temperatures from selected weather stations in southern China from 1951-2004 were also assessed. Over 70% of the stations studied yielded a statistically significant rising trend in extreme daily minimum temperature, while the trend for extreme maximum temperatures was found to vary, with no significant trend established for the majority of stations.     

Changes in Daily Climate Extremes of Observed Temperature and Precipitation in China

Daily precipitation for 1960–2011 and maximum/minimum temperature extremes for 1960–2008 recorded at 549 stations in China are utilized to investigate climate extreme variations.A set of indices is derived and analyzed with a main focus on the trends and variabilities of daily extreme occurrences.Results show significant increases in daily extreme warm temperatures and decreases in daily extreme cold temperatures,defined as the number of days in which daily maximum temperature(Tmax)and daily minimum temperature(Tmin)are greater than the 90th percentile and less than the10th percentile,respectively.Generally,the trend magnitudes are larger in indices derived from Tmin than those from Tmax.Trends of percentile-based precipitation indices show distinct spatial patterns with increases in heavy precipitation events,defined as the top 95th percentile of daily precipitation,in western and northeastern China and in the low reaches of the Yangtze River basin region,and slight decreases in other areas.Light precipitation,defined as the tail of the5th percentile of daily precipitation,however,decreases in most areas.The annual maximum consecutive dry days(CDD)show an increasing trend in southern China and the middle-low reach of the Yellow River basin,while the annual maximum consecutive wet days(CWD)displays a downtrend over most regions except western China.These indices vary significantly with regions and seasons.Overall,occurrences of extreme events in China are more frequent,particularly the night time extreme temperature,and landmasses in China become warmer and wetter.     

Changes in Seasonal Cycle and Extremes in China during the Period 1960–2008

Recent trends in seasonal cycles in China are analyzed, based on a homogenized dataset of daily temperatures at 541 stations during the period 1960–2008. Several indices are defined for describing the key features of a seasonal cycle, including local winter/summer (LW/LS) periods and local spring/autumn phase (LSP/LAP). The Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition method is applied to determine the indices for each year. The LW period was found to have shortened by 2–6 d (10 yr)-1, mainly due to an earlier end to winter conditions, with the LW mean temperature having increased by 0.2°C–0.4°C (10 yr)?1, over almost all of China. Records of the most severe climate extremes changed less than more typical winter conditions did. The LS period was found to have lengthened by 2–4 d (10 yr)?1, due to progressively earlier onsets and delayed end dates of the locally defined hot period. The LS mean temperature increased by 0.1°C–0.2°C (10 yr)-1 in most of China, except for a region in southern China centered on the mid-lower reaches of the Yangtze River. In contrast to the winter cases, the warming trend in summer was more prominent in the most extreme records than in those of more typical summer conditions. The LSP was found to have advanced significantly by about 2 d (10 yr)-1 in most of China. Changes in the autumn phase were less prominent. Relatively rapid changes happened in the 1980s for most of the regional mean indices dealing with winter and in the 1990s for those dealing with summer.     

Changes in Regional Heavy Rainfall Events in China during 1961–2012

A new technique for identifying regional climate events, the Objective Identification Technique for Regional Extreme Events(OITREE), was applied to investigate the characteristics of regional heavy rainfall events in China during the period1961–2012. In total, 373 regional heavy rainfall events(RHREs) were identified during the past 52 years. The East Asian summer monsoon(EASM) had an important influence on the annual variations of China's RHRE activities, with a significant relationship between the intensity of the RHREs and the intensity of the Mei-yu. Although the increase in the frequency of those RHREs was not significant, China experienced more severe and extreme regional rainfall events in the 1990 s. The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the northern part of South China were the regions in the country most susceptible to extreme precipitation events. Some stations showed significant increasing trends in the southern part of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the northern part of South China, while parts of North China, regions between Guangxi and Guangdong, and northern Sichuan showed decreasing trends in the accumulated intensity of RHREs.The spatial distribution of the linear trends of events' accumulated intensity displayed a similar so-called "southern flooding and northern drought" pattern over eastern China in recent decades.     

1951～2002年中国平均最高、最低气温及日较差变化

利用1951～2002年全国733个台站的月平均最高、最低气温资料,对我国年、季平均最高、最低气温变化趋势的空间分布状况和时间变化特征进行了分析.结果表明:近52年来,我国平均最高气温的变化特征呈现北方增暖明显、南方变化不明显或呈弱降温趋势;年平均最低气温全国各地基本一致,呈明显的变暖趋势;无论是年还是季,平均最低气温的增暖幅度明显大于平均最高气温的增幅;我国年平均日较差多呈下降趋势,并在我国北方地区尤为明显,各季平均日较差亦均呈下降趋势,并以冬季的下降幅度为最大;年平均最高气温和最低气温的变化在年代际变化上基本呈现较为一致的步伐,即52年来主要的变暖均是从20世纪80年代中期开始,均在90年代后期达到了近52年来的历史新高,近年来又略有回落.     

赤道东太平洋海温与中国温度、降水的关系

根据１９５１～１９９８年北太平洋海温和中国温度、降水资料,统计分析了春、夏、秋、冬四季赤道东太平洋海温、厄尔尼诺及拉尼娜事件和中国温度、降水的关系,结果表明：赤道东太平洋海温、厄尔尼诺和拉尼娜事件与中国温度、降水有一定关系,其中与温度冬季关系较好,与降水秋季关系最好。     

天山山区近40年冬季温度变化特征

利用新疆1959～1998年的冬季温度资料,分析天山山区近40年来冬季温度变化的基本特征,并与新疆南部、新疆北部进行比较,所得主要结果如下：(1)天山山区冬季平均温度在冷暖变化阶段上与新疆北部的相似性强于新疆南部。(2)冬季平均温度空间分布的同步变化性以新疆北部为较好,新疆南部和天山山区较差,而冬季平均温度空间分布的反向变化性,以天山山区和新疆南部较大,新疆北部较小。(3)三大区域冬季平均温度20世纪60～70年代的变化趋势是不同的,但70～90年代均表现为持续升温,90年代为最暖。(4)就近40年的显著线性增温趋势的空间分布范围看,以最低温度表现得空间范围最广,最高温度最差,平均温度居中。冬季最低温度增温率以新疆北部最大,新疆南部居中,天山山区最小。新疆南部和新疆北部冬季平均温度存在长度分别为27及29年的相近的最佳增温时段,增温率新疆北部大于新疆南部。(5)新疆北部和新疆南部冬季平均温度均在1979年发生了由低温向高温的突变。     

南昌夏季气温变化特征及其预测

南昌夏季平均气温存在明显的年际变化特征,夏季平均气温有下降的趋势;利用均生函数模型对南昌夏季平均气温趋势进行了拟合和预报,拟合值与实况值基本一致,并预报了2005年～2007年南昌的夏季处于冷夏;分析了南昌夏季最高气温、最低气温变化趋势,结果表明冷夜和暖夜变化具有对称性,冷夜减少和暖夜的增加趋势几乎一致,而冷日和暖日的变化也呈非对称性分布,上升趋势比较明显,但下降趋势不明显。     

近50年阳泉气温时空变化特征

本文就近50年来(1955～2000)阳泉逐月平均气温、平均最低气温、平均最高气温、02时平均气温、14时平均气温5个序列进行了深入细致的诊断分析.结果表明阳泉气温呈非连续的增暖趋势,线性变化约为0.24℃·(10a)-1,90年代较50年代上升了约0.9℃.1985年是一个突变点,这以后增温极为明显.夜间气温增温幅度高于白天增温幅度,冬季气温增温幅度高于夏季增温幅度,表现出明显的不对称性.     

1981—2011年阿里河地区气温极差变化浅析

利用1981—2011年阿里河镇的平均气温及逐日最高、最低气温资料,详细分析了年平均气温、年极端最高气温、年极端最低气温以及年平均气温极差的变化规律和特点。结果表明:阿里河地区的年平均气温呈明显上升趋势;年极端最高、最低气温都呈上升趋势;年平均气温极差值逐渐增大。     

Analysis of Sampling Error Uncertainties and Trends in Maximum and Minimum Temperatures in China简

In this paper we report an analysis of sampling error uncertainties in mean maximum and minimum temperatures （Tmax and Tmin） carried out on monthly,seasonal and annual scales,including an examination of homogenized and original data collected at 731 meteorological stations across China for the period 1951-2004.Uncertainties of the gridded data and national average,linear trends and their uncertainties,as well as the homogenization effect on uncertainties are assessed.It is shown that the sampling error variances of homogenized Tmax and Tmin,which are larger in winter than in summer,have a marked northwest-southeast gradient distribution,while the sampling error variances of the original data are found to be larger and irregular.Tmax and Tmin increase in all months of the year in the study period 1951-2004,with the largest warming and uncertainties being 0.400℃ （10 yr）-1 ＋ 0.269℃ （10 yr）-1 and 0.578℃ （10 yr）-1 ＋ 0.211℃ （10 yr）-1 in February,and the least being 0.022℃ （10 yr）-1 ＋ 0.085℃ （10 yr）-1 and 0.104℃ （10 yr）-1 ＋0.070℃ （10 yr）-1 in August.Homogenization can remove large uncertainties in the original records resulting from various non-natural changes in China.     

我国近40年气温变化地域类型的研究

依据１９５１－１９９０年全国７０多个站点４０年的气温资料,采用相关分析和线性模拟的方法,从区域气候特征和气温变化趋势一致的角度,首先划分出气温变化的１０个地区再根据气温变化率进行分型,最后在此基础之上归并成３个气温变化区域,以进一步揭示我国气温变化的区域差异。     

近100年天津平均气温与极端气温变化

利用1910-2009年天津气象站逐日最高、最低气温观测资料,计算了平均气温和平均最高（低）气温序列,以及高（低）温阈值、最长暖日（冷夜）日数和霜冻日数等极端气温指数序列。利用线性回归和Mann-Kendall检验分析了这些气温序列变化趋势的显著性和跃变特征。结果表明,天津市近100年平均气温显著上升,冬、春季最低气温...     

冬小麦田午时冠层温度与气温和地温的关系

基于野外实测数据，分晴日、阴日及不区分阴晴3种情况，研究了湿润与较干冬小麦田午时冠层温度、气温和地温间的定量关系。结果表明:湿润麦田晴日使用气温预测冠温效果最好，基于最终模型估算冠温的平均误差仅1.03℃，标准差为1.26℃。较干麦田晴日与阴日用地温估算冠温效果最佳，基于最终模型估算冠温的平均误差分别为1.64，1.54 ℃；其估算冠温的标准分别为2.05，1.89℃。用本文统计建模法预测结果的误差低于目前用NOAA影像反演冠温时2~3℃的均方根误差。研究结果也说明使用气温和地温预测麦田冠温是切实可行的。这就为冠温数据的获取提供了廉价有效的新方法；同时也使利用遥感影像与地面气象站常规观测资料相结合的方法，在较大的区域范围内进行冬小麦需水预测成为可能。