Projection of Extreme Temperatures in Hong Kong in the 21st Century

The possible changes in the frequency of extreme temperature events in Hong Kong in the 21st century were investigated by statistically downscaling 26 sets of the daily global climate model projections (a combination of 11 models and 3 greenhouse gas emission scenarios, namely A2, A1B, and B1) of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The models’ performance in simulating the past climate during 1971–2000 has also been verified and discussed. The verification revealed that the models in general have an acceptable skill in reproducing past statistics of extreme temperature events. Moreover, the models are more skillful in simulating the past climate of the hot nights and cold days than that of the very hot days. The projection results suggested that, in the 21st century, the frequency of occurrence of extremely high temperature events in Hong Kong would increase significantly while that of the extremely low temperature events is expected to drop significantly. Based on the multi-model scenario ensemble mean, the average annual numbers of very hot days and hot nights in Hong Kong are expected to increase significantly from 9 days and 16 nights in 1980–1999 to 89 days and 137 nights respectively in 2090–2099. On the other hand, the average annual number of cold days will drop from 17 days in 1980–1999 to about 1 day in 2090–2099. About 65 percent of the model-scenario combinations indicate that there will be on average less than one cold day in 2090–2099. While all the model-emission scenarios in general have projected consistent trends in the change of temperature extremes in the 21st century, there is a large divergence in the projections between difierent model/emission scenarios. This reflects that there are still large uncertainties in the model simulation of the future climate of extreme temperature events.     

Characteristics of the Regional Meteorological Drought Events in Southwest China During 1960–2010

An objective identification technique for regional extreme events(OITREE) and the daily compositedrought index(CI) at 101 stations in Southwest China(including Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Chongqing)are used to detect regional meteorological drought events between 1960 and 2010. Values of the parameters of the OITREE method are determined. A total of 87 drought events are identified, including 9 extreme events. The 2009–2010 drought is the most serious in Southwest China during the past 50 years. The regional meteorological drought events during 1960–2010 generally last for 10–80 days, with the longest being 231days. Droughts are more common from November to next April, and less common in the remaining months.Droughts occur more often and with greater intensity in Yunnan and southern Sichuan than in other parts of Southwest China. Strong(extreme and severe) regional meteorological drought events can be divided into five types. The southern type has occurred most frequently, and Yunnan is the area most frequently stricken by extreme and severe drought events. The regional meteorological drought events in Southwest China have increased in both frequency and intensity over the study period, and the main reason appears to be a significant decrease in precipitation over this region, but a simultaneous increase in temperature also contributes.     

FUTURE CHANGE OF PRECIPITATION EXTREMES OVER THE PEARL RIVER BASIN FROM REGIONAL CLIMATE MODELS

Based on RegCM4, a climate model system, we simulated the distribution of the present climate (1961-1990) and the future climate (2010-2099), under emission scenarios of RCPs over the whole Pearl River Basin. From the climate parameters, a set of mean precipitation, wet day frequency, and mean wet day intensity and several precipitation percentiles are used to assess the expected changes in daily precipitation characteristics for the 21st century. Meanwhile the return values of precipitation intensity with an average return of 5, 10, 20, and 50 years are also used to assess the expected changes in precipitation extremes events in this study. The structure of the change across the precipitation distribution is very coherent between RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. The annual, spring and winter average precipitation decreases while the summer and autumn average precipitation increases. The basic diagnostics of precipitation show that the frequency of precipitation is projected to decrease but the intensity is projected to increase. The wet day percentiles (q90 and q95) also increase, indicating that precipitation extremes intensity will increase in the future. Meanwhile, the 5-year return value tends to increase by 30%-45% in the basins of Liujiang River, Red Water River, Guihe River and Pearl River Delta region, where the 5-year return value of future climate corresponds to the 8- to 10-year return value of the present climate, and the 50-year return value corresponds to the 100-year return value of the present climate over the Pearl River Delta region in the 2080s under RCP8.5, which indicates that the warming environment will give rise to changes in the intensity and frequency of extreme precipitation events.     

气候变化国家评估报告(Ⅰ):中国气候变化的历史和未来趋势

The climate change in China shows a considerable similarity to the global change, though there still exist some significant differences between them. In the context of the global warming, the annual mean surface air temperature in the country as a whole has significantly increased for the past 50 years and 100 years, with the range of temperature increase slightly greater than that in the globe. The change in precipitation trends for the last 50 and 100 years was not significant, but since 1956 it has assumed a weak increasing trend. The frequency and intensity of main extreme weather and climate events have also undergone a significant change. The researches show that the atmospheric CO2 concentration in China has continuously increased and the sum of positive radiative forcings produced by greenhouse gases is probably responsible for the country-wide climate warming for the past 100 years, especially for the past 50 years. The projections of climate change for the 21st century using global and regional climate models indicate that, in the future 20-100 years, the surface air temperature will continue to increase and the annual precipitation also has an increasing trend for most parts of the country.     

Performance of BCC-CSM Models with Different Horizontal Resolutions in Simulating Extreme Climate Events in China

In this study, the performance of the Beijing Climate Center(BCC) Climate System Model version 1.1(BCCCSM1.1)(280-km resolution) and the BCC-CSM1.1 m(110-km resolution) in simulating extreme climate events over China in the last 40 years is compared. Both models capture the main spatial distribution features of heavy precipitation(R95T), the number of consecutive wet days(CWD), the annual count of days with precipitation ≥1 mm(R1),the maximum consecutive 5-day precipitation(Rx5), and the numbers of frost days(FD) and summer days(SU). The BCC-CSM1.1 m has a better ability to simulate the detailed distribution of extreme climate events than the BCCCSM1.1, including R95T, CWD, R1, and the simple precipitation intensity index(SDII). However, the BCCCSM 1.1 m does not show an improvement in simulating the number of days with extreme precipitation(R90N), the number of consecutive dry days(CDD), the heat wave duration index(HWDI), the warm day frequency(TX90 P),and cold night frequency(TN10P). This indicates that the simulation of the R95T, CWD, R1, and SDII climate events is more sensitive to the resolution of the model. The improved BCC-CSM1.1 m is used to explore the projection of extreme climate change in China during the 21 st century under the RCP4.5(Representative Concentration Pathways) and RCP8.5 scenarios. The results show that extreme precipitation will increase dramatically over North and Southwest China in the late 21 st century. The CWD index will decrease on the Tibetan Plateau and in northeastern and central China and will increase in other parts of China; R1 will increase in northern China and decrease in southern China; Rx5 will increase dramatically in southern China; FD will decrease and SU will increase over China in the late 21 st century under both emission scenarios, with larger amplitudes in RCP8.5.     

Detection, Causes and Projection of Climate Change over China： An Overview of Recent Progress

This article summarizes the main results and findings of studies conducted by Chinese scientists in the past five years.It is shown that observed climate change in China bears a strong similarity with the global average.The country-averaged annual mean surface air temperature has increased by 1.1℃over the past 50 years and 0.5-0.8℃over the past 100 years,slightly higher than the global temperature increase for the same periods.Northern China and winter have experienced the greatest increases in surface air temperature.Although no significant trend has been found in country-averaged annual precipitation, interdecadal variability and obvious trends on regional scales are detectable,with northwestern China and the mid and lower Yangtze River basin having undergone an obvious increase,and North China a severe drought.Some analyses show that frequency and magnitude of extreme weather and climate events have also undergone significant changes in the past 50 years or so. Studies of the causes of regional climate change through the use of climate models and consideration of various forcings,show that the warming of the last 50 years could possibly be attributed to an increased atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases,while the temperature change of the first half of the 20th century may be due to solar activity,volcanic eruptions and sea surface temperature change.A significant decline in sunshine duration and solar radiation at the surface in eastern China has been attributed to the increased emission of pollutants. Projections of future climate by models of the NCC(National Climate Center,China Meteorological Administration)and the IAP(Institute of Atmospheric Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences),as well as 40 models developed overseas,indicate a potential significant warming in China in the 21st century,with the largest warming set to occur in winter months and in northern China.Under varied emission scenarios,the country-averaged annual mean temperature is projected to increase by 1.5-2.1℃by 2020,2.3-3.3℃by 2050, and by 3.9-6.0℃by 2100,in comparison to the 30-year average of 1961 1990.Most models project a 10% 12% increase in annual precipitation in China by 2100,with the trend being particularly evident in Northeast and Northwest China,but with parts of central China probably undergoing a drying trend.Large uncertainty exists in the projection of precipitation,and further studies are needed.Furthermore,anthropogenic climate change will probably lead to a weaker winter monsoon and a stronger summer monsoon in eastern Asia.     

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.     

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.     

Relationship between Extreme Precipitation and Temperature in Two Different Regions:The Tibetan Plateau and Middle–East China

The change of extreme precipitation with temperature has regional characteristics in the context of global warming.In this study, radiosonde data, co-located rain gauge(RG) observations, and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission(TRMM) precipitation radar(PR) products are used to explore the relationship between extreme precipitation intensity and near-surface temperature in Middle–East China(MEC) and the eastern Tibetan Plateau(TP) during1998–2012. The results show that extreme precipitation intensity increases with increasing temperature at an approximate Clausius–Clapeyron(C–C) rate(i.e., water vapor increases by 7% as temperature increases by 1°C based on the C–C equation) in MEC and TP, but the rate of increase is larger in TP than in MEC. This is probably because TP(MEC) is featured with deep convective(stratiform) precipitation, which releases more(less) latent heat and strengthens the convection intensity on a shorter(longer) timescale. It is also found that when temperature is higher than 25°C(15°C) in MEC(TP), the extreme precipitation intensity decreases with rise of temperature, suggesting that the precipitation intensity does not always increase with warming. In this case, the limited atmospheric humidity and precipitable water could be the primary factors for the decrease in extreme precipitation intensity at higher temperatures.     

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.     

Sensitivity of Climate Changes to CO_2 Emissions in China

In this study, the authors demonstrate that the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 （CMIP5） models project a robust response in changes of mean and climate extremes to warming in China. Under a scenario of a 1% CO2 increase per year, surface temperature in China is projected to increase more rapidly than the global average, and the model ensemble projects more precipitation （2.2%/℃）. Responses in changes of climate extremes are generally much stronger than that of climate means. The majority of models project a consistent re- sponse, with more warm events but fewer cold events in China due to CO2 warming. For example, the ensemble mean indicates a high positive sensitivity for increasing summer days （12.4%/℃） and tropical nights （26.0%/℃）, but a negative sensitivity for decreasing frost days （-4.7%/℃） and ice days （-7.0%/℃）. Further analyses indicate that precipitation in China is likely to become more extreme, featuring a high positive sensitivity. The sensitivity is high （2.4%/℃） for heavy precipitation days （〉 10 mm d l） and increases dramatically （5.3%/℃） for very heavy precipitation days （〉 20 mm d-1）, as well as for precipitation amounts on very wet days （10.8%/℃） and extremely wet days （22.0%/℃）. Thus, it is concluded that the more extreme precipitation events generally show higher sensitivity to CO2 warming. Additionally, southern China is projected to experience an increased risk of drought and flood occurrence, while an increased risk of flood but a decreased risk of drought is likely in other regions of China.     

NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF EXTREME PRECIPITATION IN EASTERN CHINA UNDER A1B SCENARIO

The regional climate model （RegCM3）, developed by the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics and nested in one-way mode within the latest version of Community Climate System Model from the National Center for Atmospheric Research, is used to conduct a set of experiments to examine its capability of climate simulation for the past 50 years and to explore possible changes in extreme precipitation （EP） in the next 100 years under the A1B scenario. Compared with the observation from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia and CPC Merged Analysis of Precipitation, RegCM3 reasonably reproduces the spatiotemporal distributions of precipitation and EP in eastern China. Based on the present-day analysis, this study examines the changes in monsoonal precipitation over eastern China in mid- and late-21st century relative to the reference period of 1970-1999. It is found that the precipitation will increase over the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and areas to its north, and decrease over coastal areas to its south, especially in late-21st century. The various indices reflecting extreme events showed that the EP will enhance 10%-15% over the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and areas to its north, and weaken over the areas to its south. The summer monsoon will strengthen and shift northwards under SERS A1B, bringing more water vapor and energy from the Indian Ocean and South China Sea for precipitation and eventually more precipitation over northern China.     

Assessment of future drought in Southwest China based on CMIP5 multimodel projections

In the last decade, a series of severe and extensive droughts have swept across Southwest China, resulting in tremendous economic losses, deaths, and disruption to society. Consequently, this study is motivated by the paramount importance of as- sessing future changes in drought in Southwest China. Precipitation is likely to decrease over most parts of Southwest China around the beginning of the century, followed by widespread precipitation increases; the increase in potential evapotran- spiration （PET）, due to the joint effects of increased temperature and surface net radiation and decreased relative humidity, will overwhelm the whole region throughout the entire 21st century. In comparative terms, the enhancement of PET will outweigh that of precipitation, particularly under Representative Concentration Pathway （RCP） 8.5, resulting in intensified drought. Generally, the drying tendency will be in the southeast portion, whereas the mountainous region in the northwest will become increasingly wetter owing to abundant precipitation increases. Droughts classified as moderate/severe according to historical standards will become the norm in the 2080s under RCP4.5/RCP8.5. Future drought changes will manifest different characteristics depending on the time scale： the magnitude of change at a time scale of 48 months is nearly twice as great as that at 3 months. Furthermore, we will see that not only will incidences of severe and extreme drought increase dramatically in the future, but extremely wet events will also become more probable.     

Changes of Precipitation Intensity Spectra in Different Regions of Mainland China During 1961-2006

The spectral characteristics of precipitation intensity during warm and cold years are compared in six regions of China based on precipitation data at 404 meteorological stations during 1961-2006.In all of the studied regions except North China,with the increasing temperature,a decreasing trend is observed in light precipitation and the number of light precipitation days,while an increasing trend appears in heavy precipitation and the heavy precipitation days.Although changes in precipitation days in North China are similar to the changes in the other five regions,heavy precipitation decreases with the increasing temperature in this region.These results indicate that in most parts of China,the amount of precipitation and number of precipitation days have shifted towards heavy precipitation under the background of a warming climate;however,the responses of precipitation distributions to global warming differ from place to place.The number of light precipitation days decreases in the warm and humid regions of China(Jianghuai region,South China,and Southwest China),while the increasing amplitude of heavy precipitation and the number of heavy precipitation days are greater in the warm and humid regions of China than that in the northern regions(North China,Northwest China,and Northeast China).In addition,changes are much more obvious in winter than in summer,indicating that the changes in the precipitation frequency are more affected by the increasing temperature during winter than summer.The shape and scale parameters of the Γ distribution of daily precipitation at most stations of China have increased under the background of global warming.The scale parameter changes are smaller than the shape parameter changes in all regions except Northwest China.This suggests that daily precipitation shifts toward heavy precipitation in China under the warming climate.The number of extreme precipitation events increases slightly,indicating that changes in the Γ distribution fitting parameters reflect changes in the regional precipitation distribution structure.     

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.     

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.     

The Long-term Variation of Extreme Heavy Precipitation and Its Link to Urbanization Effects in Shanghai during 1916–2014

Using the hourly precipitation records of meteorological stations in Shanghai, covering a period of almost a century(1916–2014), the long-term variation of extreme heavy precipitation in Shanghai on multiple spatial and temporal scales is analyzed, and the effects of urbanization on hourly rainstorms studied. Results show that:(1) Over the last century, extreme hourly precipitation events enhanced significantly. During the recent urbanization period from 1981 to 2014, the frequency of heavy precipitation increased significantly, with a distinct localized and abrupt characteristic.(2) The spatial distribution of long-term trends for the occurrence frequency and total precipitation intensity of hourly heavy precipitation in Shanghai shows a distinct urban rain-island feature; namely, heavy precipitation was increasingly focused in urban and suburban areas.Attribution analysis shows that urbanization in Shanghai contributed greatly to the increase in both frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall events in the city, thus leading to an increasing total precipitation amount of heavy rainfall events. In addition,the diurnal variation of rainfall intensity also shows distinctive urban–rural differences, especially during late afternoon and early nighttime in the city area.(3) Regional warming, with subsequent enhancement of water vapor content, convergence of moisture flux and atmospheric instability, provided favorable physical backgrounds for the formation of extreme precipitation.This accounts for the consistent increase in hourly heavy precipitation over the whole Shanghai area during recent times.     

Multi-model projection of July�CAugust climate extreme changes over China under CO2 doubling. Part I: Precipitation

Potential changes in precipitation extremes in July–August over China in response to CO 2 doubling are analyzed based on the output of 24 coupled climate models from the Twentieth-Century Climate in Coupled Models (20C3M) experiment and the 1% per year CO 2 increase experiment (to doubling) (1pctto2x) of phase 3 of the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project (CMIP3). Evaluation of the models’ performance in simulating the mean state shows that the majority of models fairly reproduce the broad spatial pattern of observed precipitation. However, all the models underestimate extreme precipitation by ～50%. The spread among the models over the Tibetan Plateau is ～2–3 times larger than that over the other areas. Models with higher resolution generally perform better than those with lower resolutions in terms of spatial pattern and precipitation amount. Under the 1pctto2x scenario, the ratio between the absolute value of MME extreme precipitation change and model spread is larger than that of total precipitation, indicating a relatively robust change of extremes. The change of extreme precipitation is more homogeneous than the total precipitation. Analysis on the output of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory coupled climate model version 2.1 (GFDL-CM2.1) indicates that the spatially consistent increase of surface temperature and water vapor content contribute to the large increase of extreme precipitation over contiguous China, which follows the Clausius–Clapeyron relationship. Whereas, the meridionally tri-polar pattern of mean precipitation change over eastern China is dominated by the change of water vapor convergence, which is determined by the response of monsoon circulation to global warming.     

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.     

Changes in Extreme Events as Simulated by a High-Resolution Regional Climate Model for the Next 20–30 Years over China

In this paper, the changes in temperature and precipitation extremes over the next 20-30 years (2021-2050) in relative to the present day (1986-2005) under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A1B scenario are analyzed based on a high-resolution climate change simulation performed by a regional climate model (the Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) RegCM3). The extreme indices of summer days (SU), frost days (FD), and growing season length (GSL) for temperature and simple daily intensity index (SDII), number of days with precipitation ≥10 mm d-1 (R10), and consecutive dry days (CDD) for precipitation are used as the indicators of the extremes. The results show that the indices simulated by RegCM3 in the present day show good agreement with the observed. A general increase in SU, a decrease in FD, and an increase in GSL are found to occur in the next 20-30 years over China. A general increase in SDII, an increase in R10 over western China, and a decrease in R10 in north, northeast, and central China are simulated by the model. Changes in CDD are characterized by a decrease in the north and an increase in the south and the Tibetan Plateau.