Impacts of Urbanization on the Precipitation Characteristics in Guangdong Province,China

With the development of urbanization, whether precipitation characteristics in Guangdong Province, China, from 1981 to 2015 have changed are investigated using rain gauge data from 76 stations. These characteristics include annual precipitation, rainfall frequency, intense rainfall(defined as hourly precipitation ≥ 20 mm), light precipitation(defined as hourly precipitation ≤ 2.5 mm), and extreme rainfall(defined as hourly rainfall exceeding the 99.9 th percentile of the hourly rainfall distribution). During these 35 years, the annual precipitation shows an increasing trend in the urban areas.While rainfall frequency and light precipitation have a decreasing trend, intense rainfall frequency shows an increasing trend. The heavy and extreme rainfall frequency both exhibit an increasing trend in the Pearl River Delta region, where urbanization is the most significant. These trends in both the warm seasons(May-October) and during the pre-flood season(April-June) appear to be more significant. On the contrary, the annual precipitation amount in rural areas has a decreasing trend. Although the heavy and extreme precipitation also show an increasing trend, it is not as strong and significant as that in the urban areas. During periods in which a tropical cyclone makes landfall along the South China Coast, the rainfall in urban areas has been consistently more than that in surrounding areas. The precipitation in the urban areas and to their west is higher after 1995, when the urbanization accelerated. These results suggest that urbanization has a significant impact on the precipitation characteristics of Guangdong Province.     

STUDY OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN URBANIZATION SPEED AND CHANGE IN SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF RAINFALL OVER SHANGHAI

Using daily rainfall data of 11 observatory stations over Shanghai for the period 1960-2007,the spatial differences of rainfall over the Shanghai region during periods with slow and rapid urbanization respectively are investigated based on spatial standard deviation of rainfall and its relative variables.Results show that spatial differences increase with the acceleration of urbanization.Spatial distributions of annual rainfall and rainstorm frequency exhibit distinct urban ’rain-island’ features during the rapid period of urbanization(1960-1983) while it is opposite in the case of slow urbanization(1984-2007).Changes in the spatial distribution of annual rainfall trends also take place during different periods.Specifically,the variation of annual rainfall exhibits consistent trends over the Shanghai region in the slow urbanization periods.However,inconsistent spatial distribution of variations has taken place over the central districts and suburbs of Shanghai during the rapid urbanization stage.Since the speeding-up of urbanization,the annual rainfall amount over central districts of Shanghai tends to increase while that in the suburbs shows a decreasing trend.In addition,as far as different seasons are concerned,the speed of urbanization exerts insignificant influences on the spatial distribution of rainfall during winter and spring.On the contrary,the rainfall during summer and autumn(especially summer) is featured with an island effect during the rapid urbanization period.     

Duration and Seasonality of Hourly Extreme Rainfall in the Central Eastern China

Compared with daily rainfall amount, hourly rainfall rate represents rainfall intensity and the rainfall process more accurately, and thus is more suitable for studies of extreme rainfall events. The distribution functions of annual maximum hourly rainfall amount at 321 stations in China are quantified by the Generalized Extreme Value（GEV） distribution, and the threshold values of hourly rainfall intensity for 5-yr return period are estimated. The spatial distributions of the threshold exhibit significant regional diferences, with low values in northwestern China and high values in northern China, the mid and lower reaches of the Yangtze River valley, the coastal areas of southern China, and the Sichuan basin. The duration and seasonality of the extreme precipitation with 5-yr return periods are further analyzed. The average duration of extreme precipitation events exceeds 12 h in the coastal regions, Yangtze River valley, and eastern slope of the Tibetan Plateau. The duration in northern China is relatively short. The extreme precipitation events develop more rapidly in mountain regions with large elevation diferences than those in the plain areas. There are records of extreme precipitation in as early as April in southern China while extreme rainfall in northern China will not occur until late June. At most stations in China, the latest extreme precipitation happens in August–September. The extreme rainfall later than October can be found only at a small portion of stations in the coastal regions, the southern end of the Asian continent, and the southern part of southwestern China.     

Temporal and Spatial Characteristics of Extreme Hourly Precipitation over Eastern China in the Warm Season

Based on hourly precipitation data in eastern China in the warm season during 1961-2000,spatial distributions of frequency for 20 mm h 1 and 50 mm h 1 precipitation were analyzed,and the criteria of short-duration rainfall events and severe rainfall events are discussed.Furthermore,the percentile method was used to define local hourly extreme precipitation;based on this,diurnal variations and trends in extreme precipitation were further studied.The results of this study show that,over Yunnan,South China,North China,and Northeast China,the most frequent extreme precipitation events occur most frequently in late afternoon and/or early evening.In the Guizhou Plateau and the Sichuan Basin,the maximum frequency of extreme precipitation events occurs in the late night and/or early morning.And in the western Sichuan Plateau,the maximum frequency occurs in the middle of the night.The frequency of extreme precipitation (based on hourly rainfall measurements) has increased in most parts of eastern China,especially in Northeast China and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River,but precipitation has decreased significantly in North China in the past 50 years.In addition,stations in the Guizhou Plateau and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River exhibit significant increasing trends in hourly precipitation extremes during the nighttime more than during the daytime.     

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.     

Long-Term Trends in Pre-Summer Daytime and Nocturnal Extreme Hourly Rainfall in a Coastal City of South China

The long-term trends in the occurrence frequency of pre-summer daytime and nocturnal extreme hourly rainfall(EXHR) during 1988-2018 in Hong Kong and their spatial distributions are examined and analyzed. Despite a significant increasing trend observed in the occurrence frequency of pre-summer EXHRs during the investigated period,the increase in daytime and nocturnal EXHRs show distinct spatial patterns. Nocturnal EXHRs show uniform increasing trends over the entire Hong Kong. However, the increa...     

DIURNAL VARIATIONS OF SUMMER PRECIPITATION IN SHANGHAI

This paper investigates the diurnal variations of summer precipitation in Shanghai by using the city''s hourly precipitation data over a span of 35 years. The result shows that the precipitation peaks twice, in the morning and in the afternoon. Precipitation in the morning is characterized by light to moderate rain, and that in the afternoon by heavy to super heavy rain. The peak of short-duration precipitation is mostly found in the afternoon and at dusk, and that of long-duration precipitation in the morning. Most of the precipitation events in Shanghai are of a short duration of 2-3 hours. Basically, the precipitation is spatially distributed in three areas: the eastern coastal and central urban area, where the precipitation peaks mostly in the afternoon, the southern coastal area, where the precipitation peaks both in the afternoon and during the night, and the western area, where long-duration precipitation accounts for a much larger proportion than the other two areas.     

SPATIO-TEMPORAL VARIATION CHARACTERISTICS OF EXTREMELY HEAVY PRECIPITATION FREQUENCY OVER SOUTH CHINA IN THE LAST 50 YEARS

This paper comprehensively studies the spatio-temporal characteristics of the frequency of extremely heavy precipitation events over South China by using the daily precipitation data of 110 stations during 1961 to 2008 and the extremely heavy precipitation thresholds determined for different stations by REOF, trend coefficients, linear trend, Mann-Kendall test and variance analysis. The results are shown as follows. The frequency distribution of extremely heavy precipitation is high in the middle of South China and low in the Guangdong coast and western Guangxi. There are three spatial distribution types of extremely heavy precipitation in South China. The consistent anomaly distribution is the main type. Distribution reversed between the east and the west and between the south and the north is also an important type. Extremely heavy precipitation events in South China mainly occurred in the summer-half of the year. Their frequency during this time accounts for 83.7% of the total frequency. In the 1960s and 1980s, extremely heavy precipitation events were less frequent while having an increasing trend from the late 1980s. Their climatological tendency rates decrease in the central and rise in the other areas of South China, and on average the mean series also shows an upward but insignificant trend at all of the stations. South China＇s frequency of extremely heavy precipitation events can be divided into six major areas and each of them shows a different inter-annual trend and three of the representative stations experience abrupt changes by showing remarkable increases in terms of Mann-Kendall tests.     

Recent Progress in Studies of Climate Change in China

An overview of basic research on climate change in recent years in China is presented. In the past 100 years in China, average annual mean surface air temperature (SAT) has increased at a rate ranging from 0.03℃ (10 yr)-1 to 0.12℃ (10 yr)-1 . This warming is more evident in northern China and is more significant in winter and spring. In the past 50 years in China, at least 27% of the average annual warming has been caused by urbanization. Overall, no significant trends have been detected in annual and/or summer precipitation in China on a whole for the past 100 years or 50 years. Both increases and decreases in frequencies of major extreme climate events have been observed for the past 50 years. The frequencies of extreme temperature events have generally displayed a consistent pattern of change across the country, while the frequencies of extreme precipitation events have shown only regionally and seasonally significant trends. The frequency of tropical cyclone landfall decreased slightly, but the frequency of sand/dust storms decreased significantly. Proxy records indicate that the annual mean SAT in the past a few decades is the highest in the past 400-500 years in China, but it may not have exceeded the highest level of the Medieval Warm Period (1000-1300 AD). Proxy records also indicate that droughts and floods in eastern China have been characterized by continuously abnormal rainfall periods, with the frequencies of extreme droughts and floods in the 20th century most likely being near the average levels of the past 2000 years. The attribution studies suggest that increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere are likely to be a main factor for the observed surface warming nationwide. The Yangtze River and Huaihe River basins underwent a cooling trend in summer over the past 50 years, which might have been caused by increased aerosol concentrations and cloud cover. However, natural climate variability might have been a main driver for the mean and extreme precipitation variations observed over the past century. Climate models generally perform well in simulating the variations of annual mean SAT in China. They have also been used to project future changes in SAT under varied GHG emission scenarios. Large uncertainties have remained in these model-based projections, however, especially for the projected trends of regional precipitation and extreme climate events.     

Spatial characteristics of extreme rainfall over China with hourly through 24-hour accumulation periods based on national-level hourly rain gauge data

Hourly rainfall measurements of 1919 national-level meteorological stations from 1981 through 2012 are used to document,for the first time,the climatology of extreme rainfall in hourly through 24-h accumulation periods in China. Rainfall amounts for 3-,6-,12- and 24-h periods at each station are constructed through running accumulation from hourly rainfall data that have been screened by proper quality control procedures. For each station and for each accumulation period,the historical maximum is found,and the corresponding 50-year return values are estimated using generalized extreme value theory. Based on the percentiles of the two types of extreme rainfall values among all the stations,standard thresholds separating Grade I,Grade II and Grade III extreme rainfall are established,which roughly correspond to the 70th and 90th percentiles for each of the accumulation periods. The spatial characteristics of the two types of extreme rainfall are then examined for different accumulation periods. The spatial distributions of extreme rainfall in hourly through 6-h periods are more similar than those of 12- and 24-h periods. Grade III rainfall is mostly found over South China,the western Sichuan Basin,along the southern and eastern coastlines,and in the large river basins and plains. There are similar numbers of stations with Grade III extreme hourly rainfall north and south of 30°N,but the percentage increases to about 70% south of 30°N as the accumulation period increases to 24 hours,reflecting richer moisture and more prolonged rain events in southern China. Potential applications of the extreme rainfall climatology and classification standards are suggested at the end.     

2010-2019年浙江暖季短时强降水特征分析

利用2010-2019年浙江省暖季(5-9月)1426个国家站和区域站小时雨量数据和NCEP 1° X 1°逐日4次再分析资料,分析了浙江省暖季短时强降水、极端短时强降水时空分布特征及区域性短时强降水事件,结果表明:①近10年暖季短时强降水频次呈增多趋势,降水强度变化平稳;8月(上旬)降水频次最多,9月(中旬)强度最强...     

北京地区夏季极端降水变化特征及城市化的影响

应用北京地区20站1971—2010年降水记录及城市发展数据,采用百分位方法定义极端降水事件的阈值,分析了北京地区夏季极端降水事件的时空变化特征及城市化的影响。结果表明：(1)北京夏季极端降水阈值及频数存在较强局地性特征,基本沿地形高度分布,极端降水频数多发区与高阈值区不完全对应;(2)近40年极端降水频率及强度均呈现下降趋势,年际及年代际差异显著;(3)城市化发展不同阶段极端降水强度及频数均有不同的分布形态,城市化对城市不同区域极端降水影响不一样,城市化导致城市下风向近郊区极端降水强度、次数均表现为增多趋势;(4)城市对极端降水的影响还与天气过程强度有关,强天气背景下城市对极端降水频数的影响程度高于对降水强度的影响。     

四川地区短时强降水事件时空演变特征研究

利用四川地区自动气象站逐小时降水观测资料,分析了2010~2019年5~9月短时强降水事件24h累计降水量、频次和强度的时空分布特征,探讨了短时强降水事件发生的频次、极值分布及其与地形、海拔高度等的关系。结果表明:四川地区平均24h累计降雨量基本在50mm以上,盆地东北部、西南部、南部及阿坝州东部甚至超过100mm,最大值出现在广安,达175mm。四川地区短时强降水事件开始时间的日变化特征表现为“V”型结构的夜间峰值位相,事件持续时段多为傍晚至凌晨,时长可达10h以上,最长甚至可持续22h。在强降水事件极值的日变化上,极大值频次和降水量呈单峰结构,在03时达到最大,其后逐渐减小至15时达到谷值,而后再次增大;降水强度呈弱双峰结构,分别在04时和16时达到谷值,13时和18时达到峰值,其日变化呈“增-减-增-减”的特征。四川短时强降水事件与复杂地形有密切的关系,5~6月事件活跃区在四川盆地中部,7月在盆地西部的龙门山脉一带,8月在雅安、乐山附近,9月在盆地北部且频次明显减少;短时强降水事件的最大小时雨强可达80mm以上,出现在7~8月的盆地西部龙门山一带和南部地区。短时强降水事件随着海拔高度的增加,发生频次和日数逐渐减少,海拔2000m以上地区基本无强降水发生日出现( 峨眉山气象站例外)。      

甘肃省暖季小时降水变化特征

利用2013-2019年暖季（4-9月）小时降水资料，分析了甘肃省强降水极值及频率的时空分布特征。结果表明：（1）甘肃省小时强降水频次呈现东高西低分布，在陇南地区东南部及陇东地区北部有2个高中心，达到29次。（2）小时强降水极值在陇中地区及以南地区高，向西北递减，陇南地区降水极值最高，超过40 mm/h。（3）小时强降水频次主要出现在7-8月，同期的雨强也最大；小时强降水频次和小时雨强均在17-24时最强，峰值为21时。（4）不同区域的降水日内变化存在明显差异，河西地区小时降水频次的峰值出现在18时，陇中和陇南地区均出现在21时，陇东地区和甘南高原分别出现在22时和19时。     

基于自动站观测的北京夏季降水特征

应用2007~2011年北京地区237个自动气象站资料,分析了北京夏季降水的精细化时空分布特征及城郊差异,结果表明:(1)北京大部分地区夏季平均有效降水时数约120~160 h,降水时数高值区主要位于北部怀柔、密云山前迎风坡一带。城、郊区间有效降水时数差异并不明显,城市化对局地降水强度有较明显影响。(2)北京夏季降水主要出现在傍晚到前半夜,凌晨到正午降水较少出现。夏季平均降水量极大值出现在17:00(北京时间),为3.2 mm/h。降水量存在较明显的周期变化特征,其中7 d左右的周期是主周期。(3)夏季城区平均降水量多于郊区,城、郊雨量差异主要来自较强降水过程。城市效应会导致城区弱降水事件的减少,亦会导致较强降水事件的增多。(4)城、郊区间降水持续时长的差异主要由较强降水过程决定,多数情况下城区降水持续时长大于郊区,午后到前半夜发生的降水尤甚。     

渠江流域汛期强降水时空分布特征

本文从分析研究渠江流域汛期强降水时空分布入手,试图揭示该流域21世纪以来洪水频发的原因。经对渠江流域1970~2012年降水资料分析研究得出:(1)渠江流域汛期降水量、暴雨日数、降水变差系数呈“北大南小”的空间分布;“北区(河流汇水区,下同)”近年来汛期降水量增大、暴雨频率增加、降水趋于极端;(2)短时强降水多发生在04~08时,频发区主要位于“北区”,近年来频次呈上升趋势;(3)小时雨强极值“北区”普遍大于“南区”;近43年渠江流域汛期小时雨强极值总体呈增大趋势,“北区”尤为明显。因此,渠江流域汛期发生的强降水趋势性变化,是导致该流域洪水频发的主要原因之一。      

基于Copula函数的北京强降水频率及危险性分析

客观分析强降水事件的发生频率及其致灾因子危险性,能为局地洪涝灾害的防灾、减灾规划及灾害预警提供科学依据。探讨了基于二元Copula函数的强降水致灾变量联合分布及其在强降水危险性分析中的应用。利用北京地区2005-2014年逐时降水资料提取强降水事件案例,通过建立能反映两个主要致灾因素--降水持续时间和过程降水量依存关系的二元联合分布模型,计算了北京地区强降水事件条件重现期,并以此为基础开展危险性分析。研究表明,北京地区强降水事件的持续时间多小于24 h,且主要服从广义极值和对数正态分布,而过程降水量则更适用于广义极值分布;通过Gumbel Copula函数能较好刻画过程降水量与持续时间的相互依存关系。北京地区短时强降水重现期受持续时间影响明显,仅基于降水量的重现期估算会低估其致灾危险性,利用基于Copula函数的条件重现期能更合理描述不同强降水情景致灾因子的危险性特征及其空间差异性特征。北京地区持续时间小于12 h、过程降水量在50 mm以上的强降水事件多呈东北-西南走向,而持续时间在6 h以内的50 mm以上强降水则在北京城区及东北部地区更加频繁。     

上海市城市暴雨内涝评估建模及模拟研究

随着城市化的推进,暴雨内涝逐渐成为许多城市的主要自然灾害,但当前暴雨内涝模型大多基于水动力学方法,需要大量的输入参数,不便于推广和应用。研究采用概化方法针对外环内中心城区构建上海暴雨内涝评估模型(Shanghai Urban Flooding Assessment Model,SUM),通过对接逐时次的降雨量,实现了对城市内涝的逐小时连续模拟。在此基础上,利用报警灾情资料和区内积水监测数据对模型模拟结果进行了评估。结果表明,该模型可以较好地模拟本市中心城区的内涝积水状况,且随着降雨量的增大,积水面积的增幅也逐渐变大;致灾阈值的分析表明浦西地区的内涝致灾雨量总体上低于浦东,其中本市黄浦、徐汇、虹口、闸北等中心城区以及宝山区部分街道的致灾雨量相对较低。     

欧亚大陆极端降水事件的区域变化特征

近年来,在全球变暖的背景下,极端气候事件特别是极端降水事件,发生频率愈发上升。本文使用美国气候预测中心提供的逐日降水资料,统计分析了1979—2018年期间欧亚大陆各个子区域极端降水事件的时空变化特征。结果表明:1)从气候态的空间分布特征来看,南欧、南亚、东南亚、东亚地区为欧亚大陆全年总降水量高值区,同时也是极端强降水频发地区;而东亚地区青藏高原、中国中西部至蒙古一带,南亚地区印度次大陆以及中亚、西亚等地的部分地区则是连续性干旱事件的高频区,极端强降水事件发生频次较少;2)在21世纪初之后,东南亚、南亚、东亚、北亚、西亚和南欧这6个地区的全年总降水量发生年代际增加,且在研究时段呈显著增加趋势。在过去近40 a,南亚、东亚和中亚的RX1day(日最大降水量)、RX5day(连续5 d最大降水量)、中雨日数(R10mm)、大雨日数(R20mm)自20世纪90年代中期年代际增加,且呈长期增加趋势。南亚、北亚、东亚、中亚这4个地区的最大连续干旱日数在20世纪80年代初显著增加,但长期趋势并不显著。需要指出的是,自2014年起极端强降水事件在东南亚、南亚和东亚地区持续增多,而连续性干旱事件在北欧地区持续增多。