Simulation and Projection of Changes in Rainy Season Precipitation over China Using the WRF Model

The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is used in a regional climate model configuration to simulate past precipitation climate of China during the rainy season (May-September) of 1981-2000, and to investigate potential future (2041-2060 and 2081-2100) changes in precipitation over China relative to the reference period 1981-2000. WRF is run with initial conditions from a coupled general circulation model, i.e., the high-resolution version of MIROC (Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate). WRF reproduces the observed distribution of rainy season precipitation in 1981-2000 and its interannual variations better than MIROC. MIROC projects increases in rainy season precipitation over most parts of China and decreases of more than 25 mm over parts of Taiwan and central Tibet by the mid-21st century. WRF projects decreases in rainfall over southern Tibetan Plateau, Southwest China, and northwestern part of Northeast China, and increases in rainfall by more than 100 mm along the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and over the lower reaches of the Yangtze River during 2041-2060. MIROC projects further increases in rainfall over most of China by the end of the 21st century, although simulated rainfall decreases by more than 25 mm over parts of Taiwan, Guangxi, Guizhou, and central Tibet. WRF projects increased rainfall of more than 100 mm along the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and over the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and decreased rainfall over Southwest China, and southern Tibetan Plateau by the end of the 21st century.     

我国夏季降水及相关大气环流场未来变化的预估及不确定性分析

利用政府间气候变化专门委员会第四次评估报告(IPCCAR4)的15个耦合气候模式在不同排放情景下的模拟结果,对我国夏季降水及相关大气环流场的未来时空变化特征与模式之间的不确定性作了研究。结果表明,在全球变暖背景下,我国夏季降水表现出较强的局地特征。其中,我国东部和高原地区的降水在21世纪表现出明显的增加趋势,而且这种趋势随着变暖的加剧而增强,同时模式模拟结果之间的一致性也更好,表明这一结果的可信度较高。在全球变暖背景下,我国新疆南部地区表现为持续的降水减少趋势,而我国西南地区夏季降水的变化则呈现出先减少(21世纪初)后增加的特征,不同模式对降水这些局地特征的模拟也都表现出较好的一致性。其他地区夏季降水在21世纪的变化不大,同时模式模拟的一致性也较差。多模式模拟的我国未来百年夏季降水的这些变化特征在温室气体高、中、低不同排放情景下基本一致,A2情景预估结果变化最大,A1B次之,B1相对最小。东亚夏季大气环流场的预估结果显示,在全球变暖的背景下,大部分模式的模拟结果都表明,东亚夏季风环流有所增强,从而使得由低纬度大洋和南海地区向我国大陆的水汽输送增加,造成该地区大气含水量的增多,从而为我国东部地区夏季降水的增加提供有利条件。此外,随着全球变暖的加剧,西太平洋副热带高压持续增强,其变化对我国东部地区夏季降水的影响程度和范围也明显增大。这些环流场及其不确定性的分析结果进一步加强了我国夏季降水未来变化预估结果的可信度。     

How the “Best” Models Project the Future Precipitation Change in China

Projected changes in summer precipitation characteristics in China during the 21st century are assessed using the monthly precipitation outputs of the ensemble of three “best” models under the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A1B, A2, and B1 scenarios. The excellent reproducibility of the models both in spatial and temporal patterns for the precipitation in China makes the projected summer precipitation change more believable for the future 100 years. All the three scenarios experiments indicate a consistent enhancement of summer precipitation in China in the 21st century. However, the projected summer precipitation in China demonstrates large variability between sub-regions. The projected increase in precipitation in South China is significant and persistent, as well as in North China. Meanwhile, in the early period of the 21st century, the region of Northeast China is projected to be much drier than the present. But, this situation changes and the precipitation intensifies later, with a precipitation anomaly increase of 12.4%–20.4% at the end of the 21st century. The region of the Xinjiang Province probably undergoes a drying trend in the future 100 years, and is projected to decrease by 1.7%–3.6% at the end of the 21st century. There is no significant long-term change of the projected summer precipitation in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River valley. A high level of agreement of the ensemble of the regional precipitation change in some parts of China is found across scenarios but smaller changes are projected for the B1 scenario and slightly larger changes for the A2 scenario.     

RegCM4对华北区域21世纪气候变化预估研究

利用国家气候中心完成的RegCM4区域气候模式在RCP4.5和RCP8.5两种排放路径下的气候变化动力降尺度试验结果,在检验模式对基准期(1986—2005年)气温和降水模拟能力基础上,进行华北区域21世纪气候变化预估分析。结果表明:RegCM4对华北区域基准期气温和降水的模拟能力较好。未来21世纪,两种情景下华北区域气温、降水、持续干期(consecutive dry days, CDD)和强降水量(R95p)变化逐渐增大,但变化幅度在高排放的RCP8.5情景下更为显著,其中近期(2021—2035年)、中期(2046—2065年)、远期(2080—2098年)RCP8.5情景下年平均气温分别升高1.77、3.44、5.82℃,年平均降水分别增加8.1%、14%、19.3%,CDD分别减少3、3、12 d, R95p分别增加30.8%、41.9%、69.8%。空间上,未来21世纪华北区域内年、冬季、夏季平均气温将一致升高,夏季升温幅度最大;年、冬季、夏季平均降水整体以增加为主,冬季降水增加幅度最大;CDD以减少为主,但近期和中期在山西和京津冀有所增加,而R95p以增加为主,表明21世纪华北区域干旱事件逐渐减少、极端降水事件不断增加。     

Changes in future precipitation over South Korea using a global high-resolution climate model

We used daily precipitation data from a global high-resolution climate scenario to analyze the features of future precipitation including extreme and heavy rainfall. The scenario shows that the model reproduces the daily precipitation over South Korea well. The projections show an increase in annual precipitation of approximately 18% in the late 21st century, with the highest increase (38%) occurring in winter. The number of days with daily precipitation of less than 5 mm decreases, but that of daily precipitation of more than 5 mm increases slightly in the latter part of the 21st century. The peak of precipitation days shifted from July to August. The number of days with relatively small amounts of precipitation (10 and 30 mm d^?1) increases most substantially in the winter season, but that for large amounts of precipitation (50, 80, 100, and 130 mm d^?1) increases most in the summer season. Events with heavy precipitation rates of 100 and 130 mm d^?1 are expected to occur in the winter season in the late 21st century, although no such events occurred during the winter season in the reference period.     

典型相关分析方法对21世纪江淮流域极端降水的预估试验

利用1961—1990年江淮流域逐日降水资料、NCEP/NCAR再分析资料和HadCM3 SRES A1B情景下模式预估资料,采用典型相关分析统计降尺度方法,评估降尺度模型对当前极端降水指数的模拟能力,并对21世纪中期和末期的极端降水变化进行预估。结果表明：通过降尺度能够有效改善HadCM3对区域气候特征的模拟能力,极端降水指数气候平均态相对误差降低了30%～100%,但降尺度结果仍然在冬季存在湿偏差、夏季存在干偏差;在SRES A1B排放情景下,该区域大部分站点的极端强降水事件将增多,强度增大,极端强降水指数的变化幅度高于平均降水指数,且夏季增幅高于冬季;冬季极端降水贡献率（R95t）在21世纪中期和末期的平均增幅分别为14%和25%,夏季则分别增加24%和32%。     

Climate-change effects on extreme precipitation in central Europe: uncertainties of scenarios based on regional climate models

Observations as well as most climate model simulations are generally in accord with the hypothesis that the hydrologic cycle should intensify and become highly volatile with the greenhouse-gas-induced climate change, although uncertainties of these projections as well as the spatial and seasonal variability of the changes are much larger than for temperature extremes. In this study, we examine scenarios of changes in extreme precipitation events in 24 future climate runs of ten regional climate models, focusing on a specific area of the Czech Republic (central Europe) where complex orography and an interaction of other factors governing the occurrence of heavy precipitation events result in patterns that cannot be captured by global models. The peaks-over-threshold analysis with increasing threshold censoring is applied to estimate multi-year return levels of daily rainfall amounts. Uncertainties in scenarios of changes for the late 21st century related to the inter-model and within-ensemble variability and the use of the SRES-A2 and SRES-B2 greenhouse gas emission scenarios are evaluated. The results show that heavy precipitation events are likely to increase in severity in winter and (with less agreement among models) also in summer. The inter-model and intra-model variability and related uncertainties in the pattern and magnitude of the change is large, but the scenarios tend to agree with precipitation trends recently observed in the area, which may strengthen their credibility. In most scenario runs, the projected change in extreme precipitation in summer is of the opposite sign than a change in mean seasonal totals, the latter pointing towards generally drier conditions in summer. A combination of enhanced heavy precipitation amounts and reduced water infiltration capabilities of a dry soil may severely increase peak river discharges and flood-related risks in this region.     

气候变化对长江上游径流影响预估

利用第五次国际耦合模式比较计划(CMIP5)中5个气候模式在3种典型浓度路径(RCPs)下的预估结果驱动SWAT水文模型,预估了21世纪气候变化对长江上游年径流量、季节分配以及极端径流的影响。结果表明：预估的长江上游平均气温呈显著上升趋势,21世纪末较当前(1986—2005年)升高1.5~5.5℃,降水总体呈增加趋势,在21世纪30年代后高于当前气候平均值,21世纪末相对于当前增加5%~15%。流域内气候变化存在明显空间差异,金沙江和岷沱江流域气温升高和降水增加幅度均大于流域平均值。预估的长江上游年径流量及各月平均径流均有增加趋势,在21世纪30年代后高于当前多年平均值,21世纪中期增加4%~8%,21世纪末增加10%~15%。预估的径流年内分布的均匀性有所增加,但年际变化明显增大,极端旱涝事件的频率和强度明显增加。预估的各子流域径流变化对气候变化的响应也存在差异,金沙江和岷沱江流域年径流量、年际变化和年内分布变化小,对气候变化的响应表现为低敏感;嘉陵江流域、乌江流域和长江上游干流径流增加幅度大,同时极端丰枯出现的频率和程度增加显著,是气候变化响应的敏感区域。     

华南地区21世纪中后期旱涝变化的情景分析

利用区域气候模式PRECIS（Providing Regional Climates for Impacts Studies）,首先选取若干旱涝指标,在验证模式对各旱涝指标的模拟能力的基础上,分析SRES A1B（Special Report on Emissions Scenarios A1B）情景下华南地区21世纪中后期（2040~2099年）各旱涝指标相对气候基准时段（1961~1990年）的变化情况,进而初步探讨华南地区未来旱涝情况的可能变化。研究表明,PRECIS能够较好地模拟出所选取的旱涝指标的年际变化和月变化特征;在SRES A1B情景下,21世纪中后期华南地区极端强降水事件的发生频率和强度都将显著增加,且强降水期将有所延长,从而使得华南地区出现雨涝灾害的可能性大大增加。与此同时,华南地区未来在春季、夏季和秋季发生气象干旱的可能性变化不显著,但在冬季发生气象干旱的可能性却将增加,尤其是在21世纪后30年冬季出现气象干旱的可能性更高。     

SST versus Climate Change Signals in West African Rainfall: 20th-Century Variations and Future Projections

Rainfall variability is a crucial factor in food production,water resource planning and ecosystems, especially in regions with scarce freshwaterresources. In West Africa rainfall has been subject to largedecadal and interdecadal variations during the 20th century. The most prominent feature is thereduction in rainfall amount throughout the second half of the century with somerecovery at the end. Among the conceivable mechanisms, which might inducesuch low-frequency variability in West African precipitation, this study isfocussed onsea surface temperature (SST) variations and increasing greenhouse gas (GHG)concentrations. A tool is presented to distinguish between both impacts bymeans of various climate model simulations, which are found to reproduce theobserved rainfall characteristics over West Africa reasonably well.Further, a multi-model approach is usedto evaluate the expected future greenhouse signal in West African rainfall with respect to natural variability and intermodel variations.It is found that observed SST fluctuations, forcing two different atmospheric climate models, are able to reproduce the main features ofobserved decadal rainfall anomalies in the southern part of West Africathroughout the second half of the 20th century. The seasonal response to varying SST isstrongest in summer when the region is undergoing intensive monsoondynamics. Whereas both atmospheric models simulate the observeddrought tendency,following the 1960s, there is some indication that the additional GHG forcing in one model inducessome significantly different rainfall anomalies in recent years, re-initiatingeven positive anomalies relative to the climatological mean which has alsobeen observed since the 1990s. However, thisresult is still subject to model uncertainty.Coupled climate model integrations with different climate change scenariosalsopredict that precipitation, particularly over the Guinea Coast and Sahelregion, will steadily increase into the 21st century. The model-comprehensive signal isstatistically significant with respect to natural variability and modeluncertainty, suggesting that the observed recovery of yearly rainfall overparts of West Africa might actually reflect the beginning impact of risinganthropogenic GHG. The physical mechanism, linking the radiative forcing tothe monsoonal rainfall, probably works via warming of the tropicalAtlantic Ocean.     

Climate Simulation and Future Projection of Precipitation and the Water Vapor Budget in the Haihe River Basin

The climatological characteristics of precipitation and the water vapor budget in the Haihe River basin (HRB) are analyzed using daily observations at 740 stations in China in 1951-2007 and the 4-time daily ERA40 reanalysis data in 1958-2001. The results show that precipitation and surface air temperature present significant interannual and interdecadal variability, with cold and wet conditions before the 1970s but warm and dry conditions after the 1980s. Precipitation has reduced substantially since the 1990s, with a continued increase of surface air temperature. The total column water vapor has also reduced remarkably since the late 1970s. The multi-model ensemble from the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has capably simulated the 20th century climate features and successfully reproduced the spatial patterns of precipitation and temperature. Unfortunately, the models do not reproduce the interdecadal changes. Based on these results, future projections of the climate in the HRB are discussed under the IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) B1, A1B, and A2. The results show that precipitation is expected to increase in the 21st century, with substantial interannual fluctuations relative to the models’ baseline climatology. A weak increasing trend in precipitation is projected before the 2040s, followed by an abrupt increase after the 2040s, especially in winter. Precipitation is projected to increase by 10%-18% by the end of the 21st century. Due to the persistent warming of surface air temperature, water vapor content in the lower troposphere is projected to increase. Relative humidity will decrease in the mid-lower troposphere but increase in the upper troposphere. On the other hand, precipitation minus evaporation remains positive throughout the 21st century. Based on these projection results, the HRB region is expected to get wetter in the 21st century due to global warming.     

The change of North China climate in transient simulations using the IPCC SRES A2 and B2 scenarios with a coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model

This paper applies the newest emission scenarios of the sulfur and greenhouse gases, namely IPCC SRES A2 and B2 scenarios, to investigate the change of the North China climate with an atmosphere-ocean coupled general circulation model. In the last three decades of the 21st century, the global warming enlarges the land-sea thermal contrast, and hence, causes the East Asian summer (winter) monsoon circulation to be strengthened (weakened). The rainfall seasonality strengthens and the summer precipitation increases significantly in North China. It is suggested that the East Asian rainy area would expand northward to North China in the last three decades of the 21st century. In addition, the North China precipitation would increase significantly in September. In July, August, and September, the interannual variability of the precipitation enlarges evidentlv over North China. implying a risk of flooding in the future.     

Projected changes in the physical climate of the Gulf Coast and Caribbean

As the global climate warms due to increasing greenhouse gases, the regional climate of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean region will also change. This study presents the latest estimates of the expected changes in temperature, precipitation, tropical cyclone activity, and sea level. Changes in temperature and precipitation are derived from climate model simulations produced for the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR4), by comparing projections for the mid- and late-21st century to the late 20th century and assuming a “middle-of-the-road” scenario for future greenhouse gas emissions. Regional simulations from the North America Regional Climate Change Program (NARCCAP) are used to corroborate the IPCC AR4 rainfall projections over the US portion of the domain. Changes in tropical cyclones and sea level are more uncertain, and our understanding of these variables has changed more since IPCC AR4 than in the case of temperature and precipitation. For these quantities, the current state of knowledge is described based on the recent peer-reviewed literature.     

Elevation gradients of European climate change in the regional climate model COSMO-CLM

A transient climate scenario experiment of the regional climate model COSMO-CLM is analyzed to assess the elevation dependency of 21st century European climate change. A focus is put on near-surface conditions. Model evaluation reveals that COSMO-CLM is able to approximately reproduce the observed altitudinal variation of 2 m temperature and precipitation in most regions and most seasons. The analysis of climate change signals suggests that 21st century climate change might considerably depend on elevation. Over most parts of Europe and in most seasons, near-surface warming significantly increases with elevation. This is consistent with the simulated changes of the free-tropospheric air temperature, but can only be fully explained by taking into account regional-scale processes involving the land surface. In winter and spring, the anomalous high-elevation warming is typically connected to a decrease in the number of snow days and the snow-albedo feedback. Further factors are changes in cloud cover and soil moisture and the proximity of low-elevation regions to the sea. The amplified warming at high elevations becomes apparent during the first half of the 21st century and results in a general decrease of near-surface lapse rates. It does not imply an early detection potential of large-scale temperature changes. For precipitation, only few consistent signals arise. In many regions precipitation changes show a pronounced elevation dependency but the details strongly depend on the season and the region under consideration. There is a tendency towards a larger relative decrease of summer precipitation at low elevations, but there are exceptions to this as well.     

Possible impacts of climate change on debris-flow activity in the Swiss Alps

This study uses a long dataset of past debris flows from eight high-elevation catchments in the Swiss Alps for which triggering conditions since AD 1864 have been reconstructed. The torrents under investigation have unlimited sediment supply and the triggering of debris flows is thus mainly controlled by climatic factors. Based on point-based downscaled climate scenarios for meteorological stations located next to the catchments and for the periods 2001–2050 and 2051–2100, we study the evolution of temperature and rainfall above specific thresholds (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 mm) and durations (1, 2 or 3 days). We conclude that the drier conditions in future summers and the wetting of springs, falls and early winters are likely to have significant impacts on the behavior of debris flows. Based on the current understanding of debris-flow systems and their reaction to rainfall inputs, one might expect only slight changes in the overall frequency of events by the mid-21^st century, but possibly an increase in the overall magnitude of debris flows due to larger volumes of sediment delivered to the channels and an increase in extreme precipitation events. In the second half of the 21^st century, the number of days with conditions favorable for the release of debris flows will likely decrease, especially in summer. The anticipated increase of rainfall during the shoulder seasons (March, April, November, December) is not expected to compensate for the decrease in future heavy summer rainfall over 2 or 3 days.     

滑动窗区空间相关系数加权集合方法及其在IPCC-AR4多模式集合模拟和预测中的应用

本文根据政府间气候变化委员会 (IPCC) 第四次评估报告 (AR4) (简称IPCC-AR4) 中22个耦合模式对20世纪气候模拟 (20C3M) 结果中20世纪晚期亚洲夏季风降水的模拟所显示出各模式模拟能力的较大空间差异, 提出了一种滑动窗区空间相关系数来量化表征这种空间差异特征, 结果表明, 该系数明显优于传统空间相关系数, 其空间分布能够较为细致地描述各模式对较小区域模拟性能的空间差异特征。在此基础上, 本文提出以这种滑动窗区空间相关系数作为各模式的权重系数进行加权集合平均, 并称之为滑动窗区空间相关系数加权集合方法。利用该方法对IPCC-AR4 22个耦合模式所模拟的20世纪晚期亚洲夏季风降水进行加权集合平均, 并将其结果与传统空间相关系数加权集合平均以及等权重多模式集合平均结果进行比较, 表明了利用本文所提出的加权集合方法对20世纪晚期亚洲夏季风降水的集合模拟结果明显优于简单的等权重多模式集合平均结果以及传统空间相关系数加权集合平均结果。鉴于此原因, 本文利用此方法对在A1B (各种能源均衡发展) 排放情景下IPCC-AR4中22个耦合模式所模拟的21世纪各时期亚洲夏季风降水演变趋势进行集合预测。其结果表明: 在A1B排放情景下, 从21世纪中期 (2045～2065年) 开始南亚夏季风降水将比20世纪晚期明显增强; 而东亚夏季风降水相对于20世纪晚期的变化呈现出从南到北经向三极子型异常分布特征, 即华南和华北地区夏季风降水增多, 而长江流域夏季风降水相对于20世纪晚期没有太大变化。并且, 结果还表明亚洲夏季风降水异常这种变化趋势可以延续到21世纪晚期。     

Changes of precipitation extremes over South Korea projected by the 5 RCMs under RCP scenarios

The change of extreme precipitation is assessed with the HadGEM2-AO - 5 Regional Climate Models (RCMs) chain, which is a national downscaling project undertaken cooperatively by several South Korean institutes aimed at producing regional climate change projection with fine resolution (12.5 km) around the Korean Peninsula. The downscaling domain, resolution and lateral boundary conditions are held the same among the 5 RCMs to minimize the uncertainties from model configuration. Climatological changes reveal a statistically significant increase in the mid-21st century (2046- 2070; Fut1) and the late-21st century (2076-2100; Fut2) precipitation properties related to extreme precipitation, such as precipitation intensity and average of upper 5 percentile daily precipitation, with respect to the reference period (1981-2005). Changes depending on the intensity categories also present a clear trend of decreasing light rain and increasing heavy rain. In accordance with these results, the change of 1-in-50 year maximum precipitation intensity over South Korea is estimated by the GEV method. The result suggests that the 50-year return value (RV50) will change from -32.69% to 72.7% and from -31.6% to 96.32% in Fut1 and from -31.97% to 86.25% and from -19.45% to 134.88% in Fut2 under representative concentration pathway (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios, respectively, at the 90% confidence level. This study suggests that multi-RCMs can be used to reduce uncertainties and assess the future change of extreme precipitation more reliably. Moreover, future projection of the regional climate change contains uncertainties evoked from not only driving GCM but also RCM. Therefore, multi-GCM and multi-RCM studies are expected to provide more robust projection.     

基于CMIP5模式安徽省植被净初级生产力预估

利用耦合模式比较计划第5阶段（CMIP5）中5个全球气候模式3种典型浓度路径（RCPs）预估结果,基于植被净初级生产力模型,估算安徽省21世纪近期（2018—2030年)、中期（2031—2050年）和远期（2051—2099年）植被净初级生产力及其对气候变化的响应。结果表明：对不同模式在安徽省模拟能力的评估可知,气温以多模式集合模拟效果优于单个模式,MIROC-ESM-CHEM对降水的模拟能力较好。未来安徽省将持续变暖,北部变暖幅度高于南部,其中RCP8.5情景下变暖趋势更显著;全省降水量将增加,南部增加多于北部。随着气候趋于暖湿化,植被净初级生产力总体增加;与基准年相比,21世纪近期增加不明显,中后期显著增加,空间上南部增加总体高于北部。从气候变化响应来看,安徽省植被净初级生产力与降水量和平均气温均显著相关,并且对降水量的响应程度更高。     

Global warming impact on the dominant precipitation processes in the Middle East

In this study, the ability of a regional climate model, based on MM5, to simulate the climate of the Middle East at the beginning of the twenty-first century is assessed. The model is then used to simulate the changes due to global warming over the twenty-first century. The regional climate model displays a negative bias in temperature throughout the year and over most of the domain. It does a good job of simulating the precipitation for most of the domain, though it performs relatively poorly over the southeast Black Sea and southwest Caspian Sea. Using boundary conditions obtained from CCSM3, the model was run for the first and last 5 years of the twenty-first century. The results show widespread warming, with a maximum of ~10 K in interior Iran during summer. It also found some cooling in the southeast Black Sea region during spring and summer that is related to increases in snowfall in the region, a longer snowmelt season, and generally higher soil moisture and latent heating through the summer. The results also show widespread decreases in precipitation over the eastern Mediterranean and Turkey. Precipitation increases were found over the southeast Black Sea, southwest Caspian Sea, and Zagros mountain regions during all seasons except summer, while the Saudi desert region receives increases during summer and autumn. Changes in the dominant precipitation-triggering mechanisms were also investigated. The general trend in the dominant mechanism reflects a change away from the direct dependence on storm tracks and towards greater precipitation triggering by upslope flow of moist air masses. The increase in precipitation in the Saudi desert region is triggered by changes in atmospheric stability brought about by the intrusion of the intertropical convergence zone into the southernmost portion of the domain.     

Future evolution of extreme precipitation in the Mediterranean

Mediterranean basins can be impacted by severe floods caused by extreme rainfall, and there is a growing awareness about the possible increase in these heavy rainfall events due to climate change. In this study, the climate change impacts on extreme daily precipitation in 102 catchments covering the whole Mediterranean basin are investigated using nonstationary extreme value model applied to annual maximum precipitation in an ensemble of high-resolution regional climate model (RCM) simulations from the Euro-CORDEX experiment. Results indicate contrasted trends, with significant increasing trends in Northern catchments and conversely decreasing trends in Southern catchments. For most cases, the time of signal emergence for these trends is before the year 2000. The same spatial pattern is obtained under the two climate scenarios considered (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) and in most RCM simulations, suggesting a robust climate change signal. The strongest multi-model agreement concerns the positive trends, which can exceed +?20% by the end of the twenty-first century in some simulations, impacting South France, North Italy, and the Balkans. For these areas, society-relevant strong impacts of such Mediterranean extreme precipitation changes could be expected in particular concerning flood-related damages.