Temperature and precipitation trends in Canada during the 20th century

Abstract

Trends in Canadian temperature and precipitation during the 20th century are analyzed using recently updated and adjusted station data. Six elements, maximum, minimum and mean temperatures along with diurnal temperature range (DTR), precipitation totals and ratio of snowfall to total precipitation are investigated. Anomalies from the 1961–1990 reference period were first obtained at individual stations, and were then used to generate gridded datasets for subsequent trend analyses. Trends were computed for 1900–1998 for southern Canada (south of 60°N), and separately for 1950–1998 for the entire country, due to insufficient data in the high arctic prior to the 1950s.

From 1900–1998, the annual mean temperature has increased between 0.5 and 1.5°C in the south. The warming is greater in minimum temperature than in maximum temperature in the first half of the century, resulting in a decrease of DTR. The greatest warming occurred in the west, with statistically significant increases mostly seen during spring and summer periods. Annual precipitation has also increased from 5% to 35% in southern Canada over the same period. In general, the ratio of snowfall to total precipitation has been increasing due mostly to the increase in winter precipitation which generally falls as snow and an increase of ratio in autumn. Negative trends were identified in some southern regions during spring. From 1950–1998, the pattern of temperature change is distinct: warming in the south and west and cooling in the northeast, with similar magnitudes in both maximum and minimum temperatures. This pattern is mostly evident in winter and spring. Across Canada, precipitation has increased by 5% to 35%, with significant negative trends found in southern regions during winter. Overall, the ratio of snowfall to total precipitation has increased, with significant negative trends occurring mostly in southern Canada during spring.

Indices of abnormal climate conditions are also examined. These indices were defined as areas of Canada for 1950–1998, or southern Canada for 1900–1998, with temperature or precipitation anomalies above the 66th or below the 34th percentiles in their relevant time series. These confirmed the above findings and showed that climate has been becoming gradually wetter and warmer in southern Canada throughout the entire century, and in all of Canada during the latter half of the century.     

Day-of-the-week variations of urban temperature and their long-term trends in Japan

Temperature differences among days of the week and their long-term trends were evaluated using 29 years of hourly data from the Automated Meteorological Data Acquisition System network of Japan. Stations were categorized with respect to the population density around each site, and an urban temperature anomaly (δT*) was defined as a departure from the spatial average of nearby rural stations. On Saturdays and holidays (Sundays and national holidays), δT* was lower than on weekdays by 0.2–0.25°C at Tokyo, by 0.1–0.2°C at Osaka, and by about 0.02°C at stations where the population density was 300 to 1,000 km^–2. Moreover, δT* showed a relative decreasing trend over the long term on Mondays and an increasing trend on Fridays, at a rate of about 0.05–0.1°C decade^–1 at Tokyo and about 0.02°C decade^–1 at stations where the population density was 100 to 1,000 km^–2, but no significant difference in δT* trends was observed between weekdays and weekend days.     

Inter-annual temperature and precipitation variations over the Litani Basin in response to atmospheric circulation patterns

This study examines the sensitivity of a mid-size basin’s temperature and precipitation response to different global and regional climate circulation patterns. The implication of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), El Ni?o Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Indian Monsoon and ten other teleconnection patterns of the Northern Hemisphere are investigated. A methodology to generate a basin-scale, long-term monthly surface temperature and precipitation time series has been established using different statistical tests. The Litani River Basin is the focus of this study. It is located in Lebanon, east of the Mediterranean Basin, which is known to have diverse geophysical and environmental characteristics. It was selected to explore the influence of the diverse physical and topographical features on its hydroclimatological response to global and regional climate patterns. We also examine the opportunity of conducting related studies in areas with limited long-term measured climate and/or hydrological data. Litani's monthly precipitation and temperature data have been collected and statistically extrapolated using remotely sensed data products from satellites and as well as in situ gauges. Correlations between 13 different teleconnection indices and the basin’s precipitation and temperature series are investigated. The study shows that some of the annual and seasonal temperature and precipitation variance can be partially associated with many atmospheric circulation patterns. This would give the opportunity to relate the natural climate variability with the watershed’s hydroclimatology performance and thus differentiate it from other anthropogenic induced climate change outcomes.     

Temperature variations and rice yields in China: historical contributions and future trends

Temperature is the principal factor that determines rice growth, development and ultimately grain yield. In this study, normal growing-degree-days (NGDD) and killing growing-degree-days (KGDD) were used to capture the different effects of normal and extreme temperatures on rice yields, respectively. Based on these indexes, we assessed the contributions of temperature variations to county-level rice yields across China during the historical period (1980–2008), and estimated the potential exposure of rice to extreme temperature stress in the near future (2021–2050). The results showed that historical temperature variations had measurable impacts on rice yields with a distinct spatial pattern: for different regions, such variations had contributed much to the increased rice yields in Northeast China (Region I) (0.59 % yield year^?1) and some portions of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau (Region II) (0.34 % yield year^?1), but seriously hindered the improvements of rice yields in the Sichuan Basin (SB) (?0.29 % yield year^?1) and the southern cultivation areas (Region IV) (?0.17 % yield year^?1); for the entire country, half of the contributions were positive and the other half were negative, resulting in a balance pattern with an average of 0.01 % yield year^?1. Under the RCP8.5 scenario, climate warming during 2021–2050 would substantially reduce cold stress but increase heat stress in the rice planting areas across China. For the future period, Region I, II and eastern China would be continually exposed to more severe cold stress than the other regions; Region III (including SB and the mid-lower reaches of Yangtze River (MLRYR)) would be the hot spot of heat stress.     

Spatiotemporal variations of precipitation regimes across Yangtze River Basin,China

Daily precipitation data during the period of 1960 to 2005 from 147 rain gauging stations over the Yangtze River Basin are analyzed to investigate precipitation variations based on precipitation indices and also consecutive rainfall regimes in both space and time. Results indicate decreasing annual/monthly mean precipitation. Distinct decreases in rainfall days are observed over most parts of the Yangtze River Basin, but precipitation intensity is increasing over most parts of the Yangtze River Basin, particularly the lower Yangtze River Basin. Besides, durations of precipitation regimes are shortening; however, the fractional contribution of short-lasting precipitation regimes to the total precipitation amount is increasing. In this sense, the precipitation processes in the Yangtze River Basin are dominated by precipitation regimes of shorter durations. These results indicate intensified hydrological cycle reflected by shortening precipitation regimes. This finding is different from that in Europe where the intensifying precipitation changes are reflected mainly by lengthening precipitation regimes, implying different regional responses of hydrological cycle to climate changes. The results of this study will be of considerable relevance in basin-scale water resources management, human mitigation of natural hazards, and in understanding regional hydrological responses to changing climate at regional scales.     

Spatial and temporal trends of extreme temperature and precipitation in the Daqing River Basin,North China

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - According to the daily maximum and minimum temperature and the precipitation at 40 meteorological stations in the Daqing River Basin of China during...     

Documenting and detecting long-term precipitation trends: Where we are and what should be done

A brief review of problems and achievements in documenting precipitation changes during the period of instrumental measurements is presented. Concern is expressed that without appropriate studies in the coming period of a new generation of precipitation measurements, technological progress in instrumentation may adversely and inadvertently affect our capability for monitoring and detecting future changes in terrestrial precipitation. At the same time, only a new generation of instrumentation will be capable of resolving the problems of monitoring precipitation over oceans.Special attention is paid to validation of the increasing trend in terrestrial precipitation observed during the past hundred years at high latitudes of the northern hemisphere - a feature of global warming predicted by most climate models.     

Observed precipitation in the Paraná-Plata hydrological basin: long-term trends, extreme conditions and ENSO teleconnections

The Paraná-Plata basin is the second largest hydrological basin in South America and is of great importance for the countries of the region (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay). The present study focuses on the long-term trends in basin-scale precipitation with special emphasis on the role of distribution changes in extreme large-scale precipitation events and on the characteristics and evolution of ENSO teleconnections over the last 50 years. First, we defined a Paraná-Plata basin total precipitation index (PTPI) as the precipitations spatially averaged over the hydrological basin. On interannual time scales, such an index is mainly representative of anomalous monsoon precipitations in the northern part of the basin and large convective precipitation anomalies in the center of the basin (Paraguay-southern Brazil-Uruguay-northern Argentina) typical of the canonical ENSO teleconnection pattern. Our major findings clearly highlight a positive trend in yearly averaged PTPI mainly from the late 1960s to the early 1980s with a strong dependence from month-to-month. The largest precipitation increase is observed from November to May in southern Brazil and Argentina. A close examination of PTPI distributions during the two halves of the period 1950–2001 shows that the changes in the mean state from 1950–1975 to 1976–2001 result from significant changes in each calendar month mean state and in the tails of the PTPI anomaly distributions in May with lesser and weaker large-scale dry events and stronger large-scale wet events. Further studies will be needed to assess whether the observed trend in large-scale extreme precipitation conditions can be related to natural climate variability or anthropogenic activities and whether it is associated to changes in local/regional extreme events. The stronger wet conditions in different months seem to be associated to changes in ENSO characteristics (amplitude, propagation, spatial structure, ...) since the 1982–1983 El Niño. Indeed, spatial ENSO teleconnections (stronger in November and April–May) have greatly evolved from 1950–1975 to 1976–2001. Moreover, we demonstrate that there is a strong modulation and displacement of the teleconnection patterns from one event to another, impeding the definition of robust statistical relationship between ENSO and precipitation in the Paraná-Plata basin (except maybe over a very limited area near the common border between Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil). Finally, the non-antisymmetrical patterns of precipitation between El Niño and La Niña conditions and the non-linear relationship between precipitation and either Niño3.4 or Niño1+2 sea surface temperature indices show that linear statistical forecast systems are actually of very limited use for impact predictions on society on a local or regional scale.     

四川盆地及东部山区暖季降水的日变化特征

利用国家气象信息中心1998—2018年分辨率为0.1°×0.1°的降水融合资料和ERA5小时再分析数据,分析了四川盆地及东部山区6—9月降水的日变化特征及成因。研究表明,四川盆地(简称盆地)降水量和频次有相似的日变化特征,盆地降水主要集中在夜间至清晨,降水高值区东传到达盆地东部山区后,降水量和频次都减少,东部山区没有明显的降水东传特征。夜间至清晨,盆地东南山地背风坡形成了较强的下沉气流,促进盆地低层形成质量堆积,同时盆地气旋性涡旋、水汽输入和大气层结不稳定的增强,造成盆地降水增强。盆地东南地区水汽通量方向自东南转为偏南以及盆地低层水汽辐合区向东扩展为盆地降水高值区向东传播提供水汽条件。盆地东部山区降水量峰值时间呈早晨和午后的双峰型分布,与地形触发局地性降水有关。受大气层结稳定性、山地气旋环流和山地—平原螺线管环流日变化的影响,盆地东部山区降水频次峰值时间呈午后的单峰型分布。     

Spectroscopic measurements of atmospheric carbon monoxide and methane. 2: Seasonal variations and long-term trends

A spectroscopic technique for measuring CO and CH₄ contents is described and the latitudinal distributions of these gases are presented. Carbon monoxide abundance decreases southward, having two local maxima: in midlatitudes and in the tropics. The slope of latitude dependence varies according to the season of the year. The difference in CH₄ content does not exceed the accuracy of the method (±8%).     

Multidecadal changes in winter circulation-climate relationship in Europe: frequency variations, within-type modifications, and long-term trends

Using pressure fields classified by the SANDRA algorithm, this study investigates the changes in the relationship between North Atlantic/European sea level pressure (SLP) and gridded European winter (DJF) temperature and precipitation back to 1750. Important changes in the frequency of the SLP clusters are found, though none of them indicating significant long-term trends. However, for the majority of the SLP clusters a tendency toward overall warmer and partly wetter winter conditions is found, most pronounced over the last decades. This suggests important within-type variations, i.e. the temperature and precipitation fields related to a particular SLP pattern change their characteristics over time. Using a decomposition scheme we find for temperature and precipitation that within-type-related variations dominate over those due to changed frequencies of the SLP clusters: Approximately 70% (60%) of European winter temperature (precipitation) variations can be explained by within-type changes, most strongly expressed over Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. This indicates that the current European winter warming cannot be explained by changed frequencies of the SLP patterns alone, but to a larger degree by changed characteristics of the patterns themselves. Potential sources of within-type variations are discussed.     

Spuriously induced precipitation trends in the southeast United States

This study uses correlation and multiple regression techniques to document differences in annual and seasonal precipitation trends between the NCDC Climate Division database and the United States Historical Climate Network (USHCN) in the southeast United States. Findings indicate that the majority of climate divisions have different temporal patterns than those depicted by the USHCN. They did not, however, consistently possess statistically significant relationships between the ratio (CDD/USHCN) and changes in mean station location as noted in other studies. It appears that other influences cause the majority of the variance between the two datasets. The fact that the two datasets do not consistently agree, however, suggests that spuriously induced trends may be present in the NCDC Climate Division database.     

Spatial patterns and temporal trends of precipitation in Iran

Spatial patterns of monthly, seasonal and annual precipitation over Iran and the corresponding long-term trends for the period 1951–2009 are investigated using the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre gridded dataset. Results suggest that the spatial patterns of annual, winter and spring precipitation and the associated coefficients of variation reflect the role of orography and latitudinal extent between central-southern arid and semi-arid regions and northern and western mountainous areas. It is also shown that precipitation occurrence is almost regularly distributed within the year in northern areas while it is more concentrated in a few months in southern Iran. The spatial distribution of Mann–Kendal trend test (Z statistics) for annual precipitation showed downward trend in north-western and south-eastern Iran, whereas western, central and north-eastern exhibited upward trend, though not statistically significant in most regions. Results for winter and autumn revealed upward trend in most parts of the country, with the exception of north-western and south-eastern where a downward trend is observed; in spring and summer, a downward trend seems to prevail in most of Iran. However, for all seasons the areas where the detected trend is statistically significant are limited to a few spot regions. The overall results suggest that the precipitation is decreasing in spring and summer and increasing in autumn and winter in most of Iran, i.e. less precipitation during the warm season with a consequent intensification of seasonality and dryness of the country. However, since the detected trends are often not statistically significant, any stringent conclusion cannot be done on the future tendencies.     

Spatial analysis of variations in precipitation intensity in the USA

In this study, we used various spatial analytical methods to examine variations and trends in precipitation intensity in the conterminous USA. We found that three different measures of precipitation intensity were highly correlated; intensity increased in a spatially coherent fashion in the northeastern quarter of the USA and generally decreased in the center portion of the western USA. Evidence is presented that spatial and temporal patterns in the trends of precipitation intensity are related to the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation. Our results are generally in agreement with others who are reporting an upward trend in precipitation intensity during a period when the planet appears to have warmed.     

Temperature and insolation trends in Hawaii

Summary Surface data for the Hawaiian Islands indicate a reciprocal relationship between measured air temperature and solar radiation. This may indicate a negative feedback relation between these elements for the large maritime region of the north central Pacific Ocean.

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Zusammenfassung Oberflächendaten der Hawaiischen Inseln deuten auf eine reziproke Beziehung zwischen den gemessenen Lufttemperaturen und der Sonneneinstrahlungen. Dies kann als Hinweis auf ein negatives Feedback zwischen den genannten Elementen im großen maritimen Gebiet des nördlichen Zentralpazifik gelten.

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Recent precipitation trends over the polar ice sheets

Summary Meteorological and glaciological analyses are integrated to examine the precipitation trends during the last three decades over the ice sheets covering Antarctica and Greenland. For Antarctica, the best data source is provided by glaciologically-measured trends of snow accumulation, and for limited sectors of East Antarctica consistency with precipitation amounts calculated from the atmospheric water balance equation is obtained. For Greenland, precipitation rates parameterized from atmospheric analyses yield the only comprehensive depiction. The precipitation rate over Antarctica appears to have increased by about 5% over a time period spanning the accumulation means for the 1955–65 to 1965–75 periods, while over Greenland it has decreased by about 15% since 1983 with a secondary increase over the southern part of the ice sheet starting in 1977. At the end of the 10-year overlapping period, the global sea-level impact of the precipitation changes over Antarctica dominates that for Greenland and yields a net ice-sheet precipitation contribution of roughly 0.02 mm yr^–1. These changes are likely due to marked variations in the cyclonic forcing affecting the ice sheets, but are only weakly reflected in the temperature regime, consistent with the episodic nature of cyclonic precipitation. These conclusions are not founded on high quality data bases. The importance of such changes for understanding global sea-level variations argues for a modest research effort to collect simultaneous meteorological and glaciological observations in order to describe and understand the current precipitation variations over both ice sheets. Some suggestions are offered for steps that could be taken.With 8 Figures     

Regional trends in recent precipitation indices in China

Summary Regional characteristics of recent precipitation indices in China were analyzed from a daily rainfall dataset based on 494 stations during 1961 to 2000. Some indices such as precipitation percentiles, precipitation intensity, and precipitation persistence were used and their inter-decadal differences were shown in this study. Over the last 40 years, precipitation indices in China showed increasing and decreasing trends separated into three main regions. A decreasing trend of annual precipitation and summer precipitation was observed from the southern part of northeast China to the mid-low Yellow River valley and the upper Yangtze River valley. This region also showed a decreasing trend in precipitation intensity and a decreasing trend in the frequency of persistent wet days. On the other hand, increasing trends in precipitation intensity were found in the Xinjiang region (northwest China), the northern part of northeast China, and southeast China, mainly to the south of the mid-low Yangtze River. The indices of persistent wet days and strong rainfall have contributed to the increasing frequency of floods in southeast China and the Xinjiang region in the last two decades. Persistent dry days and weakening rainfall have resulted in the increasing frequency of drought along the Yellow River valley including North China. Regional precipitation characteristics and trends in precipitation indices indicate the climate state variations in the last four decades. A warm-wet climate state was found in northwest China and in the northern part of northeast China. A warm-dry climate state extends from the southern part of northeast China to the Yellow River valley, while a cool-wet summer was found in southeast China, particularly in the mid-low Yangtze River valley over the last two decades.     

Stable isotopic variations in precipitation in Southwest China

This study analyzes the relationships of stable isotopes in precipitation with temperature, air pressure and humidity at different altitudes, and the potential influencing mechanisms of control factors on the stable isotopes in precipitation in Southwest China. There appear marked negative correlations of the δ18O in precipitation with precipitation amount, vapor pressure and atmospheric precipitable water (PW)at the Mengzi, Simao and Tengchong stations on the synoptic timescale; the marked negative correlations between the δ18O in precipitation and the diurnal mean temperature at 400 hPa, 500 hPa, 700 hPa and 850hPa are different from the temperature effect in middle-high-latitude inland areas. In addition, the notable positive correlation between the δ18O in precipitation and the dew-point deficit △Td at different altitudes is found at the three stations. Precipitation is not the only factor generating an amount effect. Probably,the amount effect is related to the variations of atmospheric circulation and vapor origins. On the annual timescale, the annual precipitation amount weighted-mean δ18O displays negative correlations not only with annual precipitation but also with annual mean temperature at 500 hPa. It can be deduced that, in the years with an abnormally strong summer monsoon, more warm and wet air from low-latitude oceans is transported northward along the vapor channel located in Southwest China and generates abnormally strong rainfall on the way. Meanwhile, the abnormally strong condensation process will release more condensed latent heat in the atmosphere, and this will lead to a rise of atmospheric temperature during rainfall but a decline of δ18O in the precipitation. On the other hand, in the years with an abnormally weak summer monsoon, the precipitation and the atmospheric temperature during rainfalls decrease abnormally but the δ18O in precipitation increases.     

Temperature and Precipitation Changes in China During the Holocene

We review here proxy records of temperature and precipitation in China during the Holocene, especially the last two millennia. The quality of proxy data, methodology of reconstruction, and uncertainties in reconstruction were emphasized in comparing different temperature and precipitation reconstruction and clarifying temporal and spatial patterns of temperature and precipitation during the Holocene. The Holocene climate was generally warm and wet. The warmest period occurred in 9.6-6.2 cal ka BP, whereas a period of maximum monsoon precipitation started at about 11.0 cal ka BP and lasted until about 8.0-5.0 cal ka BP. There were a series of millennial-scale cold or dry events superimposed on the general trend of climate changes. During past two millennia, a warming trend in the 20th century was clearly detected, but the warming magnitude was smaller than the maximum level of the Medieval Warm Period and the Middle Holocene. Cold conditions occurred over the whole of China during the Little Ice Age （AD 1400-AD 1900）, but the warming of the Medieval Warm Period （AD 900-AD 1300） was not distinct in China, especially west China. The spatial pattern of precipitation showed significant regional differences in China, especially east China. The modern warm period has lasted 20 years from 1987 to 2006. Bi-decadal oscillation in precipitation variability was apparent over China during the 20th century. Solar activity and volcanic eruptions both were major forcings governing the climate variability during the last millennium.