Development of a meteorological and hydrological coupling index for droughts and floods along the Yangtze River valley of China

To comprehensively investigate characteristics of summer droughts and floods in the Yangtze River valley, a meteorological and hydrological coupling index （MHCI） was developed using meteorological and hydro- logical data. The results indicate that： （1） in representing drought/flood information for the Yangtze River valley, the MHCI can reflect composite features of precipitation and hydrological observations; （2） compre- hensive analysis of the interannual phase difference of the precipitation and hydrological indices is important to recognize and predict annual drought/flood events along the valley; the hydrological index contributes more strongly to nonlinear and continuity features that indicate transition from long-term drought to flood conditions; （3） time series of the MHCI from 1960-2009 are very effective and sensitive in reflecting annual drought/flood characteristics, i.e. there is more rainfall or typical flooding in the valley when the MHCI is positive, and vice versa; and （4） verification of the MHCI indicates that there is significant correlation between precipitation and hydrologic responses in the valley during summer; the correlation coefficient was found to reach 0.82, exceeding the 0.001 significance level.     

近60年中国不同区域降水的气候变化特征

利用1951-2009年中国503站日降水量资料,研究了我国各季各地区降水年代际变化的特征,并分析了其对我国干旱演变的影响。结果表明：近60年来我国各区域年平均降水量大多为减少趋势,其中华北、西南地区减少明显;各地区秋季降水偏少的趋势最为显著,可能是导致秋季干旱增多以及秋冬连季干旱频繁的主要原因。2000年以后北方夏季降水呈减少趋势,其中华北夏季降水明显减少,而冬季降水趋于增加,南方秋季降水减少明显,而春季降水增多。云南等西南地区秋冬春连旱偏多的原因之一可能与孟加拉湾季风结束偏早有关。     

Spatiotemporal characteristics of regional drought occurrence in East Asia

Droughts in the East Asian region (105–150°E, 20–50°N) are quantified using the effective drought index (EDI) over a period of 43 years, from 1962 to 2004, and the East Asian region was classified into six subregions on the basis of similarity in drought climate: (D1) South China; (D2) lower region of the Yangtze River, South Korea, and Central/South Japan; (D3) Central China and North Korea; (D4) Northwest China and middle region of the Yangtze River; (D5) North China; and (D6) Northeast China and North Japan. The EDI time series was then summarized for the different drought subregions and a drought map was created that shows the spatiotemporal characteristics of regional drought occurrence in East Asia. The map shows that in subregions, D1, D2, D3, D4, D5, and D6, there were 50 (11.63 per decade), 36 (8.37 per decade), 30 (6.98 per decade), 28 (6.51 per decade), 29 (6.74 per decade), and 33 (7.67 per decade) drought occurrences, respectively. The most common characteristic of droughts in the subregions is that short-term droughts (<200 days) which mainly occur in spring and summer, whereas long-term droughts (≥200 days) mainly occur in autumn and winter. D1 shows the highest frequency of short-term droughts. Short-term droughts occur more frequently than long-term droughts in D2 and D3, but D4 and D6 showed a higher frequency of long-term droughts than short-term droughts. D5 showed a similar frequency of short- and long-term droughts. Drought onset dates are evenly distributed throughout the year for D1, D2, and D3, but distributed mostly in spring and summer in D4, D5, and D6. All the differences are linked to variations in the precipitation cycle of each subregion. In terms of annual variations in drought occurrence, D2 showed weakening droughts (the annual lowest EDI shows a positive trend), whereas the other subregions showed intensifying droughts (the annual lowest EDI shows a negative trend). The greatest intensifying trend was observed in D5, followed by D3, D6, D4, and D1.     

中国夏季和冬季极端干旱年代际变化及成因分析

依据1961～2009年中国区域540个气象站的夏、冬季气温和降水数据,首先采用气候变化趋势转折判别模型（简称PLFIM）分析了中国区域8个分区夏、冬季气温和降水的年代际变化,而后利用PDSI干旱指数研究了夏、冬季极端干旱在年代际尺度上的时空变化特征及其成因。结果表明:1961～2009年中国夏季极端干旱发生率北方大于南方,冬季则为在东部多而在西部少。夏季和冬季极端干旱发生概率在最后一次年代际转折后都呈增加趋势。在区域尺度上,夏季东北、华北和西北地区增加明显,冬季东北、华北、华南、西南地区增加显著。其中,降水在20世纪90年代以前的极端干旱变化中起主导作用,而后由于气候变暖所引起的极端干旱增加趋势逐渐增大,与降水变化的作用相互叠加。     

Characteristics of Clustering Extreme Drought Events in China During 1961-2010

Based on the Multi-Scale Standardized Precipitation Index (MSPI), extreme severe drought events in China during 1961-2010 were identified, and the seasonal, annual, and interdecadal variations of the clustering extreme drought events were investigated by using the spatial point process theory. It is found that severe droughts present a trend of gradual increase as a result of the significant increase and clustering tendency of severe droughts in autumn. The periodicity analysis of the clustering extreme droughts in different seasons suggests that there is a remarkable interdecadal change in the occurrence of clustering extreme droughts in winter. Meanwhile, it is revealed that the clustering extreme drought events exhibit greatly different annual mean spatial distributions during 1961-2010, with scattered and concentrated clustering zones alternating on the decadal timescale. Furthermore, it is found that the decadal-mean spatial distributions of extreme drought events in summer are correlated out of phase with those of the rainy bands over China in the past 50 years, and a good decadal persistence exists between the autumn and winter extreme droughts, implying a salient feature of consecutive autumn-winter droughts in this 50-yr period. Compared with other regions of China, Southwest China bears the most prominent characteristic of clustering extreme droughts.     

Drought analysis in the Tons River Basin,India during 1969-2008

The primary focus of this study is the analysis of droughts in the Tons River Basin during the period 1969–2008. Precipitation data observed at four gauging stations are used to identify drought over the study area. The event of drought is derived from the standardized precipitation index (SPI) on a 3-month scale. Our results indicated that severe drought occurred in the Allahabad, Rewa, and Satna stations in the years 1973 and 1979. The droughts in this region had occurred mainly due to erratic behavior in monsoons, especially due to long breaks between monsoons. During the drought years, the deficiency of the annual rainfall in the analysis of annual rainfall departure had varied from ?26% in 1976 to ?60% in 1973 at Allahabad station in the basin. The maximum deficiency of annual and seasonal rainfall recorded in the basin is 60%. The maximum seasonal rainfall departure observed in the basin is in the order of ?60% at Allahabad station in 1973, while maximum annual rainfall departure had been recorded as ?60% during 1979 at the Satna station. Extreme dry events (z score <?2) were detected during July, August, and September. Moreover, severe dry events were observed in August, September, and October. The drought conditions in the Tons River Basin are dominantly driven by total rainfall throughout the period between June and November.     

Quantile regression and clustering analysis of standardized precipitation index in the Tarim River Basin,Xinjiang, China

Because drought is a very common and widespread natural disaster, it has attracted a great deal of academic interest. Based on 12-month time scale standardized precipitation indices (SPI12) calculated from precipitation data recorded between 1960 and 2015 at 22 weather stations in the Tarim River Basin (TRB), this study aims to identify the trends of SPI and drought duration, severity, and frequency at various quantiles and to perform cluster analysis of drought events in the TRB. The results indicated that (1) both precipitation and temperature at most stations in the TRB exhibited significant positive trends during 1960–2015; (2) multiple scales of SPIs changed significantly around 1986; (3) based on quantile regression analysis of temporal drought changes, the positive SPI slopes indicated less severe and less frequent droughts at lower quantiles, but clear variation was detected in the drought frequency; and (4) significantly different trends were found in drought frequency probably between severe droughts and drought frequency.     

近30年安徽省地表干湿时空变化及对农业影响

采用FAO Penman-Monteith模型, 并利用安徽省辐射观测资料对其净辐射项进行修正, 计算近30年安徽省的参考作物蒸散量。用此计算值和相应时段的降水量计算干燥度 (I_a), 并进行了基于干燥度指标不同时间尺度的区域地表干湿状况变化分析。分析表明:1971—2000年安徽省年干燥度平均值I_a=1的等值线为湿润区和半湿润区的分界线, 该分界线与1000 mm的年雨量线有很好的一致性, 同时也具有清晰的农业意义。20世纪70—90年代I_a=1的等值线南北波动, 其波动区域正是安徽省江淮分水岭易旱区。在此基础上分析了半湿润区、波动区域和湿润区降水量、参考作物蒸散量和干燥度年代际、年际和半年际的变化趋势及变异率以及逐月干旱频率及其对农业的影响。     

Combining the standardized precipitation index and climatic water deficit in characterizing droughts: a case study in Romania

This paper characterizes droughts in Romania using the approach of both the standardized precipitation index (SPI) and climatic water deficit (WD). The values of the main climatic factors (rainfall, temperature, reference evapotranspiration, etc.) were obtained from 192 weather stations in various regions of Romania. Penman–Monteith reference evapotranspiration (ET_o-PM) was used to calculate WD as the difference between precipitation (P) and ET_o-PM. SPI was calculated from precipitation values. There is a clear difference between drought and aridity. Drought occurrence determines higher WD values for plains and plateaus and lower climatic excess water (EW) values for high mountains in Romania, depending on the aridity of the specific region considered and drought severity. WD calculated as mean values for both normal conditions and, for all locations studied, various types of drought was correlated with mean annual precipitation and temperature, respectively. The combined approach of WD and SPI was mainly carried out for periods of 1 year, but such studies could also be done for shorter periods like months, quarters, or growing season. The most arid regions did not necessarily coincide with areas of the most severe drought, as there were no correlations between WD and SPI and no altitude-based SPI zones around the Carpathian Mountains, as is the case for other climate characteristics, soils and vegetation. Water resource problems arise where both SPI values characterize extremely droughty periods and WD values are greatly below ?200 mm/year. This combined use of SPI and WD characterizes the dryness of a region better than one factor alone and should be used for better management of water in agriculture in Romania and also other countries with similar climate characteristics.     

Probabilistic assessment of projected climatological drought characteristics over the Southeast USA

The study makes a probabilistic assessment of drought risks due to climate change over the southeast USA based on 15 Global Circulation Model (GCM) simulations and two emission scenarios. The effects of climate change on drought characteristics such as drought intensity, frequency, areal extent, and duration are investigated using the seasonal and continuous standard precipitation index (SPI) and the standard evapotranspiration index (SPEI). The GCM data are divided into four time periods namely Historical (1961–1990), Near (2010–2039), Mid (2040–2069), and Late (2070–2099), and significant differences between historical and future time periods are quantified using the mapping model agreement technique. Further, the kernel density estimation approach is used to derive a novel probability-based severity-area-frequency (PBS) curve for the study domain. Analysis suggests that future increases in temperature and evapotranspiration will outstrip increases in precipitation and significantly affect future droughts over the study domain. Seasonal drought analysis suggest that the summer season will be impacted the most based on SPI and SPEI. Projections based on SPI follow precipitation patterns and fewer GCMs agree on SPI and the direction of change compared to the SPEI. Long-term and extreme drought events are projected to be affected more than short-term and moderate ones. Based on an analysis of PBS curves, especially based on SPEI, droughts are projected to become more severe in the future. The development of PBS curves is a novel feature in this study and will provide policymakers with important tools for analyzing future drought risks, vulnerabilities and help build drought resilience. The PBS curves can be replicated for studies around the world for drought assessment under climate change.     

The changing pattern of droughts in the Lancang River Basin during 1960–2005

Drought is one of the most costly natural disasters in the world. Understanding the drought characteristics in space and time will help deepen our apprehension of the drought formation and evolution mechanisms. It can also contribute to design monitoring system for drought warning and mitigation. In this study, we analyzed meteorological droughts, using the Standardized Precipitation Index, for Lancang River Basin, Southwest China. The 46-year (1960–2005) daily precipitation observations from 35 meteorological stations in the basin were used to derive the drought index. Spatial patterns and temporal patterns of the drought characteristics at multiple scales were investigated. The results utilizing the Principal Component Analysis and K-means clustering methods suggest that the study area can be divided into four sub-regions geographically with each sub-region having its own distinctive temporal evolution patterns of droughts. The temporal variability of droughts was investigated using the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) analysis and the wavelet method. The EMD analysis showed that more than 60 % of the variance of the drought is associated with intra-decadal fluctuations in precipitation, except for one sub region, represented by the Changdu station. The wavelet transform showed an evolution of the main cycle near 3–7 years for most parts of the study area.     

Analysis of meteorological drought episodes in Paraguay

This paper analyzes the meteorological drought events in Paraguay in the period of 1964 to 2011, using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). The objective is to determine if the frequency and/or severity of droughts has increased or decreased in the last years, in response of climate change. They The southernmost parts of the country are affected by severe droughts producing damage to soybean and corn crop during the rainy season (October–March) especially during the summer of 2008–2009. The years of 1967, 1968, 1978, 1979, 2000 and 2008 was identified as severe to extreme drought events and coincides with La Niña event. However, the relationship between all drought events, especially those agricultural droughts and La Niña is not clear, suggesting the necessity of new research, focusing on new drivers to explain the cause of the droughts. The economy of Paraguay, based for good part on agriculture, is clearly vulnerable to droughts. Even though no undeniable increasing trend in drought frequency/severity was detected, contingency plans to diminish drought impacts ought to be elaborated.     

Climatology of precipitation extremes in Estonia using the method of moving precipitation totals

A method of moving precipitation totals is described and applied for the analysis of precipitation extremes in Estonia. Numbers of extremely wet and extremely dry days and other indices of precipitation extremes were calculated using the daily precipitation data measured at 51 stations over Estonia during 1957–2009. Mean regularities of spatial and seasonal distribution were determined. Long-term changes were detected using Sen's method and Mann–Kendall test. The highest risk of heavy precipitation is in the regions of higher mean precipitation on the uplands and on the belt of higher precipitation in the western part of continental Estonia. Wet spells have their sharp maxima in July and August. The highest risk of droughts is observed in the coastal regions of West Estonia. In the coastal area, droughts appear mostly in the first half of summer, while in the eastern Estonia, they are usually observed during the second half of summer. Extreme precipitation events have become more frequent and intense. Statistically significant increasing trends were, first of all, found in the time series of winter extreme precipitation indices. In summer and autumn, trends existed in some indices, but in spring, there were no trends at all. There were no trends in time series of dryness indices in Estonia in 1957–2009.     

Variability of droughts in the Czech Republic, 1881–2006

We analyze droughts in the Czech Republic from 1881–2006 based on the Palmer drought severity index (PDSI) and the Z-index using averaged national temperature and precipitation series for the calculations. The standardized precipitation index (SPI), PDSI and Z-index series show an increasing tendency towards longer and more intensive dry episodes in which, for example, droughts that occurred in the mid-1930s, late 1940s–early 1950s, late 1980s–early 1990s and early 2000s were the most severe. Cycles at periods of 3.4–3.5, 4.2–4.3, 5.0–5.1 and 15.4 years exceeded 95% confidence levels in application of maximum entropy spectral analysis. These are expressed at different intensities throughout the period studied. The occurrence of extremely dry and severely dry months is associated with a higher frequency of anticyclonic situations according to the classification employed by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute. Principal component analysis documents the importance of the ridge from the Siberian High over Central Europe when extreme and severe droughts in months of the winter half-year are considered in terms of sea-level pressure. In the summer half-year, the ridge of the Azores High over Central Europe is the most important. Drought episodes have a profound effect on national and regional agricultural production, with yields being consistently lower than in normal years, as is documented through the example of spring barley, winter wheat, forage crops on arable land, and hay from meadows. Seasons with pronounced drought during the April–June period (e.g., 1947 and 2000) show the most significant yield decreases. Forests appear to be very vulnerable to long-term drought episodes, as it was the case during the dry years of 1992–1994. This study clearly confirms the statistically significant tendency to more intensive dry episodes in the region, driven by temperature increase and precipitation decrease, which has already been suggested in other studies.     

基于标准化降水指数分析鄂尔多斯市干旱演化特征

利用鄂尔多斯市1961—2010年11个气象站的逐月降水资料,通过标准化降水指数分析鄂尔多斯市近50a来干旱的时空演化特征。结果表明:鄂尔多斯市干旱的发生在时间序列上具有阶段性特征,20世纪60年代前期和90年代末期干旱最为严重,80年代为持续性干旱阶段。用经验正交函数对鄂尔多斯市干旱的空间分布特征做进一步分析,结果表明,鄂尔多斯市干旱的空间分布既有显著的一致性,又有一定的区域性。将鄂尔多斯市具体细分为西北部、东北部、西南部、东南部4个区域,80年代之前,东北部干旱较为严重,80年代以后西部干旱化趋势加剧,西北部尤为明显,东部降水增多。     

Tree-ring reconstructed megadroughts over North America since a.d. 1300

Tree-ring reconstructed summer Palmer Drought Severity Indices (PDSI) are used to identify decadal droughts more severe and prolonged than any witnessed during the instrumental period. These “megadroughts” are identified at two spatial scales, the North American continental scale (exclusive of Alaska and boreal Canada) and at the sub-continental scale over western North America. Intense decadal droughts have had significant environmental and socioeconomic impacts, as is illustrated with historical information. Only one prolonged continent-wide megadrought during the past 500 years exceeded the decadal droughts witnessed during the instrumental period, but three megadroughts occurred over the western sector of North America from a.d. 1300 to 1900. The early 20th century pluvial appears to have been unmatched at either the continental or sub-continental scale during the past 500 to 700 years. The decadal droughts of the 20th century, and the reconstructed megadroughts during the six previous centuries, all covered large sectors of western North America and in some cases extended into the eastern United States. All of these persistent decadal droughts included shorter duration cells of regional drought (sub-decadal  ≈  6 years), most of which resemble the regional patterns of drought identified with monthly and annual data during the 20th century. These well-known regional drought patterns are also characterized by unique monthly precipitation climatologies. Intense sub-decadal drought shifted among these drought regions during the modern and reconstructed multi-year droughts, which prolonged large-scale drought and resulted in the regimes of megadrought.     

2011年中国气候概况

2011年,我国气候总体呈现暖干特征。全国年平均气温较常年偏高0．5℃,为1997年以来连续第15个暖年;年降水量556．8mm,较常年偏少9％,为1951年以来最少。年内,我国未出现大范围持续性严重干旱和流域性洪涝灾害,低温冰冻和雪灾、局地强对流、热带气旋灾害较轻。但区域性、阶段性气象灾害频发。华北、黄淮出现近41年来最重秋冬连旱;长江中下游出现近60年来最重冬春连旱,6月旱涝急转,发生暴雨洪涝灾害;西南出现近60年来最重夏秋旱;华西和黄淮秋汛明显;华南南部10月发生较重暴雨灾害;强降水造成北京等大城市发生内涝;夏季南方大部持续高温,多地高温破历史纪录;台风纳沙、梅花影响范围广、致灾程度较重。2011年中国气象灾害为正常偏轻年份,直接经济损失偏多,死亡人数和受灾面积均为1990年以来最少。     

湖南极端干旱气候时段人影作业潜力分析

利用湖南97个气象观测站逐日综合气象干旱指数、逐日降水量和湖南天气气候分区,研究湖南极端干旱特征和极端干旱时段内人工影响天气增雨潜力,结果表明:①湖南极端干旱期有相当的增雨潜力,各个分区的极端干旱频次和大气可降水量年代际变化除70年代外均呈现为北少南多的特点。②极端干旱时段内各分区年均可增雨日数主要表现为月际差异,可增雨日数主要集中在8—10月,各分区区域差异较小,各分区在伏旱期的可增雨日数大约占伏旱期的16%～20%。③湖南极端干旱按照出现的季节分类有11种,频次最高的是夏秋连旱,同时夏秋连旱的可增雨日数最多。     

Quantifying the effects of climate variability and human activities on runoff for Kaidu River Basin in arid region of northwest China

Much attention has recently been focused on the effects that climate variability and human activities have had on runoff. In this study, data from the Kaidu River Basin in the arid region of northwest China were analyzed to investigate changes in annual runoff during the period of 1960–2009. The nonparametric Mann–Kendall test and the Mann–Kendall–Sneyers test were used to identify trend and step change point in the annual runoff. It was found that the basin had a significant increasing trend in annual runoff. Step change point in annual runoff was identified in the basin, which occurred in the year around 1993 dividing the long-term runoff series into a natural period (1960–1993) and a human-induced period (1994–2009). Then, the hydrologic sensitivity analysis method was employed to evaluate the effects of climate variability and human activities on mean annual runoff for the human-induced period based on precipitation and potential evapotranspiration. In 1994–2009, climate variability was the main factor that increased runoff with contribution of 90.5 %, while the increasing percentage due to human activities only accounted for 9.5 %, showing that runoff in the Kaidu River Basin is more sensitive to climate variability than human activities. This study quantitatively distinguishes the effects between climate variability and human activities on runoff, which can do duty for a reference for regional water resources assessment and management.     

呼伦贝尔市新旧综合气象干旱指数应用对比

利用呼伦贝尔市4个气象台站1972—2013年逐日气象观测资料,计算逐日新的综合气象干旱指数MCI与旧的综合气象干旱指数CI,并对比两种干旱指数统计出的干旱日数、干旱强度,以及根据相应标准统计出的干旱过程和与实际干旱发生情况的吻合程度,分析新旧指数的优劣。结果表明,由于CI没有区分逐日降水量在指数中的权重,从而造成其跳变要多于MCI,而且MCI引入了近150天降水量的SPI并区分了冬、夏半年的权重值,避免了干旱指数对呼伦贝尔市冬季、初春干旱评价过重的问题。结合呼伦贝尔市实际的气候特点和干旱灾害发生实况,MCI更符合实际,适合业务应用。