Effects of Drought on Winter Wheat Yield in North China During 2012-2100

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.     

Developing a large‐scale water‐balance approach to seasonal forecasting: application to the 2012 drought in Britain

Seasonal hydrological forecasts, or outlooks, can potentially provide water managers with estimates of river flows and water resources for a lead time of several months ahead. An experimental modelling tool for national hydrological outlooks has been developed which combines a hydrological model estimate of sub‐surface water storage across Britain with a range of seasonal rainfall forecasts to provide estimates of area‐wide hydrological conditions up to a few months ahead. The link is made between a deficit in sub‐surface water storage and a requirement for additional rainfall over subsequent months to enable sub‐surface water storage and river flow to return to mean monthly values. The new scheme is assessed over a recent period which includes the termination of the drought that affected much of Britain in the first few months of 2012. An illustration is provided of its use to obtain return‐period estimates of the ‘rainfall required’ to ease drought conditions; these are well in excess of 200 years for several regions of the country, for termination within a month of 1 April 2012, and still exceed 40 years for termination within three months. National maps of sub‐surface water storage anomaly show for the first time the current spatial variability of drought severity. They can also be used to provide an indication of how a drought situation might develop in the next few months given a range of possible future rainfall scenarios. © 2013 CEH/Crown and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comprehensive approach to drought and desertification in Northern Nigeria

Drought has been a recurring feature of the arid and semi-arid areas of Nigeria. This paper reviews the extent, severity, and consequences of drought and desertification in Nigeria with particular emphasis on the northern part of the country. The haphazard manner in which these environmental hazards have been tackled is examined and a systematic approach for the formulation of a national policy is proposed. It is recommended that a detailed formulation and implementation of the proposed policy plan is imperative to mitigate the often devastating impacts of drought and desertification in the very prone areas of Nigeria. Until such is done, some areas of Nigeria will always be vulnerable to the whims of an inevitable climatic hazard of drought and associated land degradation in the form of desertification.     

Some aspects of the spatial characteristics of drought in northern Nigeria

A long-period instrumental data set (1916–1987) of monthly growing season (April–October) rainfall totals for 34 stations in northern Nigeria is used to quantify drought following the method of H. N. Bhalme and D. A. Mooley. It is established that there are remarkable seasonal changes in the patterns of wetness and dryness over the region with no consistent recurrent spatial patterns in the moisture anomalies. In general, large-scale droughts only rarely cover the region as a whole, and there are distinct spatial differences dominating the wet and dry years. The length and severity of drought varies from sub-area to sub-area with very low interannual persistence. Although discrete areas do catch the brunt of drought on a year-by-year basis, drought occurrence in the region is largely sporadic in its spatial distribution. The rather noisy spatial characteristics of drought in northern Nigeria suggests that the seasonal shift in the Intertropical Discontinuity (ITD) is not likely the most important causal mechanism of drought in the region.     

近三十年来非洲的旱灾与环境变化

本文简要介绍了近三十年来非洲旱灾的基本情况,分析了其形成的原因,并指出,总的说来,干旱是形成非洲旱灾的一个自然因素,但它不等于旱灾.从环境的角度来看,非洲旱灾更重要的原因是人类不适当的土地利用和管理.文章最后提出了非洲防止旱灾的若干战略原则和建议.     

全球增暖下我国旱涝灾害可能情景的初步研究

在全球变暖的情况下,我国东南沿海、西南、西北、内蒙古和东北部分地区,洪涝灾害可能增加;而黄河中游以南和华北平原干旱可能增加.这一变化特征与本世纪暖期降水分布变化,以及与CO_2倍增情况下气候模似结果基本一致.     

应用土壤水模拟模型研究区域干旱

旨在应用平原地区土壤水模拟模型，给出区域旱精分析所需的干旱信息。以多年平均土壤含水量为判断旱情发生的临界函数，经过统计分析后，提出了一种适用于平原地区分析 区域旱情严重程度的实用方法和拟定评价旱情的定量标准。     

低纬和中高纬度火山爆发与我国旱涝的联系

根据５００年旱涝等级资料，采用时序迭加方法，分析了低纬和中高纬火山爆发对我国降水的影响。此外，还对１６００－１９７９年南方涛动指数的变化进行了类似的分析。结果表明，低纬和中高纬火山爆发发后全国旱涝分布型和部分地区降水变化趋势有很大差异。爆发当年华北就可能明显变旱，而次年长江流域才出现明显的降水异常。计算不明，１９９１年皮纳图博火山及去仙岳火山爆发与江淮特大洪涝有直接联系的可能性不大。