土壤湿度年际变化对中国区域极端气候事件模拟的影响研究Ⅱ.敏感性试验分析

利用NCARCAM3.1大气环流模式,设计了有、无土壤湿度年际异常的两组数值试验,探讨了土壤湿度年际异常对极端气候事件模拟的可能影响。结果表明,模式模拟的极端气候事件对土壤湿度异常十分敏感,土壤湿度异常对极端气候指标的多年平均空间分布、年际变率以及年际变化均具有重要影响。当不考虑土壤湿度的年际异常时:(1)模拟的暖夜日数、暖昼日数和热浪持续指数的发生频次在全国范围内均明显减少,而霜冻日数则明显增加。极端降水指标的响应表现出明显的空间差异,极端降水频次在江淮流域明显减小,而极端降水强度则表现为东北减弱、长江流域增强;中雨日数和持续湿期在我国大部分地区减少。(2)极端气温指标的年际变率在我国大部分地区呈减小趋势;而极端降水事件的变化则较为复杂,极端降水频次和极端降水强度的年际变率在长江以南有所增强,而北方地区则有所减弱。中雨日数和持续湿期的年际变率在我国呈现出较为一致的减少趋势。(3)模式对暖夜日数、霜冻日数的年际变化的模拟能力明显下降,并对4个极端降水指标的年际变化的模拟能力在全国多数区域均有不同程度的下降。     

1961-2011 年渝东南地区降水变化特征分析

利用1961-2011年渝东南地区6个气象站的降水资料,分析了该地区的气候变化特征。结果表明：1961-2011年渝东南地区年、春季和秋季降水为线性减少趋势,秋季减少趋势显著;夏季和冬季降水为线性增加趋势,但不显著。年和四季降水的周期变化不太一致,年代际周期夏季和冬季降水比较显著。年雨日、小雨、中雨和大雨日数都为线性减少趋势,中雨和大雨日数减少趋势比较显著。暴雨日数整体上无明显变化。逐年代变化来看,雨日偏多最多的20世纪90年代表现为小雨和暴雨日数偏多,中雨和大雨日数偏少;雨日偏少最多的21世纪初期主要表现为小雨、大雨和暴雨日数偏少,中雨日数偏多。     

BCC气候模式对中国近50a极端气候事件的模拟评估

利用中国区域437站1958—2005年逐日气温和降水资料,评估了国家气候中心（BeijingCli-mateCenter,BCC）气候模式对中国近50a极端气候事件空间分布、时间演变等方面的模拟能力。结果表明：1）模式对极端温度和降水多年平均的空间分布具有一定的模拟能力,但尚存在系统性的偏差。暖昼日数的模拟优于冷夜日数,全年冷夜日数的模拟优于冬季和夏季的模拟,而全年和夏季暖昼日数的模拟优于冬季的模拟。极端降水频次的模拟优于极端降水量的模拟;夏季和全年的模拟优于冬季的模拟。夏季极端降水频次的模拟较好,但冬季的模拟在长江中下游和华南偏小、北方偏大,而全年的模拟在长江下游及南部沿海地区系统性偏大;夏季和全年极端降水量的模拟系统性偏低,而冬季在北方偏高、南方偏低。2）模式较好地模拟出了夏季和全年冷夜日数的全国较为一致的减少趋势,再现东北和东南沿海地区冬季冷夜日数的减少趋势,但模拟的趋势较实测偏弱。模式对暖昼日数长期趋势的模拟效果较理想,较好地反映出了大部分地区暖昼事件发生频率显著增加的特征,但冬季的模拟尚有待改进。模式较好地模拟出了夏季和全年极端降水频次的长期趋势,较好地刻画了极端降水频次＂南增北减＂的特征;模式对冬季极端降水频次的变化趋势几乎无模拟能力。同样,模式也较好地模拟出了极端降水量夏季南增北减的分布形势和冬季的总体增加趋势,但对全年的模拟不理想。3）模式能较好地模拟出冷夜日数和暖昼日数异常变化的主要空间型,对EOF第一模态的时间演变特征具有一定模拟能力;但模式对第二模态时间演变特征的刻画能力较差。模式对极端降水指标的年际变化具有一定的模拟能力,对部分区域极端降水事件的年际变化具有较好的模拟能力;但模拟能力表现出了明显的区域性差异,部分区域极端降水年际变化的模拟结果与实况甚至相反,模式对极端降水年际变化的模拟能力还有待提高。所得结果可为BCC气候模式的改进及极端气候模拟、预估提供一定的参考。     

近40年广西石漠化地区气候变化特征分析

利用广西石漠化片区1971-2010年气象观测资料,分析了近40年来气温、降水等气象要素的变化特征。结果显示:广西石漠化片区平均年降水量呈不显著的减少趋势,具有明显的阶段性变化特征,年际变化较大,春秋季降水量呈减少趋势而夏冬季呈增多趋势;年总暴雨日数呈微弱的增加趋势;年平均气温呈明显上升趋势,其中秋季气温上升最为明显;高温日数呈明显增多趋势。     

我国四季极端雨日数时空变化及其与海表温度异常的关系

利用1960—2004年我国586个气象站的逐日降水观测资料,对每个季节和每个站点,以雨日降水量升序排列的第90个百分位值定义极端日降水阈值,分析揭示了我国四季极端雨日数的时空变化特征、与海表温度异常的关系以及相联系的大气环流异常型。结果表明,我国长江流域极端雨日数在冬季和夏季呈显著增加趋势,华北地区极端雨日数在冬季显著增加、而在夏季显著减少,华南地区极端雨日数在春季显著增加,东北地区极端雨日数在冬季和春季显著增加,而西北地区极端雨日数在四季均显著增加。各季极端雨日数在线性趋势变化之上表现年际和年代际变化特征,并且其典型异常型明显不同,春、秋季表现为长江以南与以北地区反位相的"偶极型"变化,夏季表现为长江流域与华南、华北地区反位相的"三极型"变化,冬季表现为全国大部分地区同位相的"单极型"变化。我国季节极端雨日数与印度洋-太平洋海表温度异常的关系主要表现为与ENSO的关系,而ENSO影响我国极端降水异常是通过相应的大气环流异常型来实现的。     

气候变化对宁波四明山人体舒适度的影响

利用宁波四明山区域气象观测站逐日和逐小时气象要素观测资料,分析该区域气候条件,并以舒适度指标等评估其气候生态。结果表明,1961—2017年四明山区域气温持续上升,降水增多,日降水峰值集中在16—18时且未出现明显变化,小风日数增多,气候适宜日数明显增加。气温是影响该区域人体舒适度的主因,其次是相对湿度和风;春秋舒适日数多,气候温润,日晴夜雨特征明显;夏季凉爽,是理想的避暑休闲胜地;年舒适时数高山与平原相近,但季节差异明显,夏季高山地区非常舒适,其他三季平原更舒适。区域气候模式结果显示,未来四明山区域气温继续维持升高趋势,降水有所增加,极端高温事件增多,极端低温事件减少,人体舒适日数呈减少趋势,春、秋季略增加,夏季减少明显。     

近45年哈密地区温度变化特征

利用1961-2005年近45年哈密地区6个站点的观测资料,分析了该地区的平均气温、平均最高气温、平均最低气温和平均日较差、炎热日以及寒冷日的年际、年代际的变化特征,同时对降水、云量等要素也进行了分析,揭示其与哈密地区温度变化的可能关系。结果表明,近45年来哈密地区气候显著增暖,平均气温在夏季增暖幅度最大,春季最弱。1990年代以后增暖趋势表现最明显,21世纪以来增幅最大。与平均气温变化趋势相一致,最高温度和最低温度也呈显著升高趋势,其中最低温度的升高幅度远大于最高温度和平均气温的升高幅度。哈密地区近45年平均日较差显著减小,这主要是因为最低气温的升高幅度大于最高气温的升高幅度。在全球增暖背景下,哈密地区的炎热日数显著增加,而寒冷日数显著减少。个别站的气温增温不明显,这与局地的降水、云量增加,日照减少有一定关系。此外,哈密地区冬季平均气温在1980年代中后期有一次明显的突变,突变时间晚于新疆其他地区5~6年左右,表明气候突变在不同地区会有不同的表现。     

内蒙古地区极端降水事件分布特征

基于内蒙古地区94个气象站1961—2007年逐日降水量资料,利用累积频率法,分析了极端降水事件变化特征。结果表明：（1）近50年内蒙古地区极端降水事件和极端强降水事件发生的强度和出现的频次均呈现出增多趋势,尤其在1977年降水发生突变之后,增加趋势更为明显。（2）近50年内蒙古地区最长连续无降水日数和最长连续降水日数持续时间缩短,表明连续性干旱和降水的持续性减弱,尤其是进入本世纪后,最长连续无降水日数陡升和最长连续降水日数陡降,气候湿润程度下降,加之全球气候变暖,使内蒙古地区进入本世纪后暖而干的气候特征更为明显,这对农牧业生产和生态环境保护极为不利。（3）内蒙古地区近50年小雨和暴雨日数的减少,降水强度的加大,使全区降水不稳定性增加,降水有极端化发展趋势,尤其是在1987年气温发生突变之后,降水强度变化更大。     

1951～2009年东亚地区日降水趋势特征分析

研究大陆或次大陆尺度日降水长期趋势变化规律,对于检测、理解区域气候和陆地水循环对全球气候变暖的响应特征十分重要。利用美国国家气候资料中心(NCDC)和中国基准气候站、基本气象站网降水观测资料,在对该站点资料进行基本质量控制基础上,选取东亚地区619个站1951～2009年日降水数据,按照百分位阈值对降水进行分级,共分为弱、中、强、极强4个级别,用经纬度网格面积加权平均方法构建区域平均的时间序列,分析了各类降水事件长期变化趋势的时空特征。结果表明:东亚地区近59年平均总降水量表现出不显著下降趋势,降水日数没有出现趋势性变化,平均日降水强度略有减小;区域平均的年降水量、降水日数和日降水强度在中国北方大部、蒙古东部、俄罗斯远东地区南部和日本列岛多呈减少趋势,而在俄罗斯中西伯利亚南部、朝鲜半岛南部和中国长江中下游流域一般表现为增加。从季节上看,近59年东亚区域平均的冬、春季降水量、降水日数和日降水强度均呈增加趋势,而夏、秋季一般呈减少趋势,仅夏季日降水强度略有增加。降水的年内分配出现均匀化趋势。从不同级别降水事件看,近59年来东亚区域平均的各级别降水量均为下降趋势,中降水、强降水和极强降水日数也呈现下降趋势,弱降水日数表现出较明显增加;仅有全区秋季强降水量、日数减少趋势和冬季中降水量、日数增加趋势通过了显著性水平检验。分析还发现,近30年(1980～2009年)东亚地区日降水趋势变化出现了新的特征,主要表现为大部分地区降水日数呈现增加,日降水强度减少,45°N以南多数台站降水量也增加,全区降水有向非极端化方向发展趋势。     

西藏高原汛期不同等级降水变化特征分析

根据西藏25个台站近37a(1973～2009年)的逐日降水资料,利用线性倾向估计以及Morlet小波变换等方法对高原汛期(5～9月)不同等级降水日数进行分析。结果表明:(1)西藏高原降水主要由小雨和中雨组成,两者雨量相当,大雨不到降水总量的10%;(2)在空间分布上,高原降水日数与小雨日数相似,由雅鲁藏布江下游向四周递减,高原西北部最少;中雨和大雨由雅鲁藏布江流域向南北2侧递减;(3)在时间演变上,总降水日数与小雨日数在各季节分配均匀,而中雨和大雨则均有明显的季节差异,主要集中在6月下旬至8月中旬。近37a来,总降水日数和小雨日数存在明显的年代际变化,具有准12～13a的年代际周期;小雨日数呈减少趋势,而中雨呈增加趋势,总降水日数和大雨日数无明显增加和减少;(4)在降水日数变化趋势的空间分布上:总降水和小雨日数在雅鲁藏布江以及高原东部地区以减少趋势为主;而高原西北部以增加趋势为主。在高原大部分地区中雨和大雨日数以增加为主,中雨日数减少的地区主要位于高原南部边缘地区,而大雨日数减少的地区主要位于高原东部。     

Projected Climate Change in the Northwestern Arid Regions of China: An Ensemble of Regional Climate Model Simulations

The projected temperature and precipitationchange under different emissions scenarios using Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 models over the northwestern arid regions of China(NWAC) were analyzed using the ensemble of three high-resolution dynamical downscaling simulations: the simulation of the Regional Climate Model version 4.0(Reg CM4) forced by the Beijing Climate Center Climate System Model version 1.1(BCC_CSM1.1); the Hadley Centre Global Environmental Model version 3 regional climate model(Had GEM3-RA) forced by the Atmosphere-Ocean coupled Had GEM version 2(Had GEM2-AO); and the Weather Research and Forecasting(WRF) model forced by the Norwegian community Earth System Model(Nor ESM1-M). Model validation indicated that the multimodel simulations reproduce the spatial and temporal distribution of temperature and precipitation well. The temperature is projected to increase over NWAC under both the 4.5 and 8.5 Representative Concentration Pathways scenarios(RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively) in the middle of the 21 st century, but the warming trend is larger under the RCP8.5 scenario. Precipitation shows a significant increasing trend in spring and winter under both RCP4.5 and RCP8.5; but in summer, precipitation is projected to decrease in the Tarim Basin and Junggar Basin. The regional averaged temperature and precipitation show increasing trends in the future over NWAC; meanwhile, the large variability of the winter mean temperature and precipitation may induce more extreme cold events and intense snowfall events in these regions in the future.     

Climate change and water resources in the Bagmati River Basin,Nepal

This paper characterizes potential hydrological impact of future climate in the Bagmati River Basin, Nepal. For this research, basinwide future hydrology is simulated by using downscaled temperature and precipitation outputs from the Hadley Centre Coupled Model, version 3 (HadCM3), and the Hydrologic Engineering Center's Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS). It is predicted that temperature may rise maximally during the summer rather than winter for both A2 and B2 Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) scenarios. Precipitation may increase during the wet season, but it may decrease during other seasons for A2 scenario. For B2 scenario, precipitation may increase during all the seasons. Under the A2 scenario, premonsoon water availability may decrease more in the upper than the middle basin. During monsoons, both upper and middle basins show increased water availability. During the postmonsoon season, water availability may decrease in the upper part, while the middle part shows a mixed trend. Under the B2 scenario, water availability is expected to increase in the entire basin. The analysis of the projected hydrologic impact of climate change is expected to support informed decision-making for sustainable water management.     

中国西部冬季降水年际与年代际变化的水汽输送差异

中国西部地区是著名的气候脆弱区,降水的多寡对其影响十分巨大。尤其是在全球变暖的背景下,西部地区的增暖、增湿异常显著,随之而来的西部地区气候变化也越来越受到关注。本研究主要分析了中国西部地区冬季降水的时空变化特征,结果表明:该地区冬季降水的最主要模态具有全区一致变化的特点,并且在20世纪80年代中期出现了一次显著的年代际突变,突变之后中国西部地区冬季降水明显增多。大气环流和水汽输送的分析结果显示,引起西部地区冬季降水年际和年代际变化的因子有着明显的差异。其中西风带水汽输送是影响西部地区冬季降水年代际变化的主要原因;而影响西部地区冬季降水年际变化的水汽则主要来自于阿拉伯海西南向的水汽输送;而且在不同年代际背景下,影响中国西部地区冬季降水的主要水汽输送通道是一致的。这些说明西部降水的预测必须要分不同时间尺度进行研究,短期气候预测需要综合考虑年际变化、年代际变化以及气候长期变化背景才会更为合理和可行。另外,西部降水年际变化因子在不同年代际背景下的稳定性,为建立该地区持续稳定的年际预测模型奠定了科学基础。     

Effects of drought on winter wheat yield in north China during 2012�C2100

Winter wheat is one of China’s most important staple food crops, and its production is strongly influenced by weather, especially droughts. As a result, the impact of drought on the production of winter wheat is associated with the food security of China. Simulations of future climate for scenarios A2 and A1B provided by GFDL-CM2, MPI_ECHAM5, MRI_CGCM2, NCAR_CCSM3, and UKMO_HADCM3 during 2001-2100 are used to project the influence of drought on winter wheat yields in North China. Winter wheat yields are simulated using the crop model WOFOST (WOrld FOod STudies). Future changes in temperature and precipitation are analyzed. Temperature is projected to increase by 3.9-5.5 for scenario A2 and by 2.9-5.1 for scenario A1B, with fairly large interannual variability. Mean precipitation during the growing season is projected to increase by 16.7 and 8.6 mm (10 yr)-1 , with spring precipitation increasing by 9.3 and 4.8 mm (10 yr)-1 from 2012-2100 for scenarios A2 and A1B, respectively. For the next 10-30 years (2012-2040), neither the growing season precipitation nor the spring precipitation over North China is projected to increase by either scenario. Assuming constant winter wheat varieties and agricultural practices, the influence of drought induced by short rain on winter wheat yields in North China is simulated using the WOFOST crop model. The drought index is projected to decrease by 9.7% according to scenario A2 and by 10.3% according to scenario A1B during 2012-2100. This indicates that the drought influence on winter wheat yields may be relieved over that period by projected increases in rain and temperature as well as changes in the growth stage of winter wheat. However, drought may be more severe in the near future, as indicated by the results for the next 10-30 years.     

Future change in the frequency of warm and cold spells over Pakistan simulated by the PRECIS regional climate model

Climate change caused by anthropogenic activities has generated a variety of research focusing on investigating the past climate, predicting the future climate and quantifying the change in climate extreme events by using different climate models. Climate extreme events are valuable to evaluate the potential impact of climate change on human activities, agriculture and economy and are also useful to monitor the climate change on global scale. Here, a Regional Climate Model (RCM) simulation is used to study the future variations in the temperature extreme indices, particularly change in frequency of warm and cold spells duration over Pakistan. The analyses are done on the basis of simulating two 30 years simulations with the Hadley Center’s RCM PRECIS, at a horizontal resolution of 50 km. Simulation for the period 1961–1990 represents the recent climate and simulation for the period 2071–2100 represents the future climate. These simulations are driven by lateral boundary conditions from HadAM3P GCM of Hadley centre UK. For the validation of model, observed mean, maximum and minimum temperatures for the period 1961–1990 at all the available stations in Pakistan are first averaged and are then compared with the PRECIS averaged grid-box data. Also the observed monthly gridded data set of Climate Research Unit (UK) data is used to validate the model. Temperature indices in the base period as well as in future are then calculated and the corresponding change is observed. Percentile based spatial change of temperature shows that in summer, increase in daily minimum temperature is more as compared to the increase of daily maximum temperature whereas in winter, the change in maximum temperature is high. The occurrence of annual cold spells shows significantly decreasing trend while for warm spells there is slight increasing trend over Pakistan.     

新疆地区未来气候变化的区域气候模式集合预估

本文基于一套在5个全球气候模式结果驱动下,RegCM4区域气候模式对东亚25 km水平分辨率的集合预估,分析了中、高温室气体典型排放路径（RCP4.5和RCP8.5）下,21世纪不同时期新疆地区的未来气候变化。对模式当代气候模拟结果的检验表明,区域模式的模拟集合（ensR）总体上能够很好地再现当代新疆平均气温、降水和极端气温、降水分布特征。ensR预估21世纪未来新疆平均气温和降水将不断升高或增加,RCP8.5下的变化大于RCP4.5。在21世纪末期RCP8.5下,区域年平均气温和降水将分别增加4.9°C和28%（102 mm）,夏季（6～8月）的升温幅度略高于冬季（12～2月）,降水则以冬季增加为主。极端温度以及高温日数同样将不断升高,其中年日最低气温最小值的增幅总体高于年日最高气温最大值,未来新疆地区的极端冷事件将减少,高温、热浪事件将增加。由极端降水指标日最大降水量反应的强降水事件将普遍增加,连续无降水日数总体以减少为主。积雪变化存在一定区域差异,具体表现为除塔里木盆地外的普遍减少。对总径流量和表层土壤湿度的预估分析表明,二者在新疆地区均以增加为主,但水文干旱在北疆会加重。ensR各模拟间无论是在当代模拟还是未来预估中都表现出较好的一致性,但在变化的具体数量及个别情况下符号均存在一定差异。最后,综合考虑ensR对各要素的预估发现,总体而言新疆未来更趋向于“暖湿化”,但这不会改变其干旱、半干旱气候的本质,而且水文干旱频率在一些地区会增加,未来新疆的水资源状况仍不容乐观。     

未来我国极端温度事件变化情景分析

基于Hadley气候预测与研究中心的区域气候模式系统PRECIS（Providing REgional Climates for Impacts Studies）单向嵌套该中心全球海-气耦合气候模式HadCM3高分辨率的大气部分HadAM3P, 检验PRECIS对我国气候基准时段（1961—1990年）极端温度事件的模拟能力, 分析IPCCSRES（Special Reporton Emission Scenarios）B2情景下未来2071—2100年相对于气候基准时段我国极端温度事件的变化响应。与观测资料的对比分析表明:PRECIS能够较好地模拟我国气候基准时段极端温度事件的局地分布特征。IPCC SRESB2情景下, 预估未来2071—2100年我国大部分地区高温日数出现频率均比气候基准时段高5倍以上; 霜冻日数将呈减少趋势, 我国南方地区的减少趋势大于北方地区; 暖期持续指数整体将呈增加趋势, 我国东北地区、西北地区中西部、华北地区和东南沿海地区增加显著; 冷期持续指数整体将呈减少趋势, 且东北地区、华北地区、西北地区及内蒙古、青藏高原大部地区的减少幅度将达到90%以上。     

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.     

Simulation of regional climate change under the IPCC A2 scenario in southeast China

A variable-grid atmospheric general circulation model, LMDZ, with a local zoom over southeast China is used to investigate regional climate changes in terms of both means and extremes. Two time slices of 30?years are chosen to represent, respectively, the end of the 20th century and the middle of the 21st century. The lower-boundary conditions (sea-surface temperature and sea-ice extension) are taken from the outputs of three global coupled climate models: Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace (IPSL), Centre National de Recherches Météorologiques (CNRM) and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL). Results from a two-way nesting system between LMDZ-global and LMDZ-regional are also presented. The evaluation of simulated temperature and precipitation for the current climate shows that LMDZ reproduces generally well the spatial distribution of mean climate and extreme climate events in southeast China, but the model has systematic cold biases in temperature and tends to overestimate the extreme precipitation. The two-way nesting model can reduce the ??cold bias?? to some extent compared to the one-way nesting model. Results with greenhouse gas forcing from the SRES-A2 emission scenario show that there is a significant increase for mean, daily-maximum and minimum temperature in the entire region, associated with a decrease in the number of frost days and an increase in the heat wave duration. The annual frost days are projected to significantly decrease by 12?C19?days while the heat wave duration to increase by about 7?days. A warming environment gives rise to changes in extreme precipitation events. Except two simulations (LMDZ/GFDL and LMDZ/IPSL2) that project a decrease in maximum 5-day precipitation (R5d) for winter, other precipitation extremes are projected to increase over most of southeast China in all seasons, and among the three global scenarios. The domain-averaged values for annual simple daily intensity index (SDII), R5d and fraction of total rainfall from extreme events (R95t) are projected to increase by 6?C7, 10?C13 and 11?C14%, respectively, relative to their present-day values. However, it is clear that more research will be needed to assess the uncertainties on the projection in future of climate extremes at local scale.     

Probabilistic forecasting of seasonal drought behaviors in the Huai River basin,China

Results from high resolution 7-km WRF regional climate model (RCM) simulations are used to analyse changes in the occurrence frequencies of heat waves, of precipitation extremes and of the duration of the winter time freezing period for highly populated urban areas in Central Europe. The projected climate change impact is assessed for 11 urban areas based on climate indices for a future period (2021–2050) compared to a reference period (1971–2000) using the IPCC AR4 A1B Scenario as boundary conditions. These climate indices are calculated from daily maximum, minimum and mean temperatures as well as precipitation amounts. By this, the vulnerability of these areas to future climate conditions is to be investigated. The number of heat waves, as well as the number of single hot days, tropical nights and heavy precipitation events is projected to increase in the near future. In addition, the number of frost days is significantly decreased. Probability density functions of monthly mean summer time temperatures show an increase of the 95th percentile of about 1–3 °C for the future compared with the reference period. The projected increase of cooling and decrease of heating degree days indicate the possible impact on urban energy consumption under future climate conditions.