Temporal and spatial variations in extreme temperatures in the Qilian Mountains-Hexi Corridor over the period 1960-2013

Based on daily maximum and minimum temperatures at 18 meteorological stations in the Qilian Mountains and Hexi Corridor between 1960 and 2013, temporal and spatial variations in extreme temperatures were analysed using linear trends, ten-point moving averages and the Mann-Kendall test. The results are as follows: The trends in the majority of the extreme temperature indices were statistically significant, and the changes in the extreme temperatures were more obvious than the changes in the extreme values. The trends were different for each season, and the changes in rates and intensities in summer and autumn were larger than those in spring and winter. Unlike the cold indices, the magnitudes and trends of the changes in the warm indices were larger and more significant in the Hexi Corridor than in the Qilian Mountains. Abrupt changes were detected in the majority of the extreme temperature indices, and the extreme cold indices usually occurred earlier than the changes in the extreme warm indices. The abrupt changes in the extreme temperatures in winter were the earliest among the four seasons, indicating that these temperature changes were the most sensitive to global climate change. The timing of the abrupt changes in certain indices was consistent throughout the study area, but the changes in the cold indices in the Hexi Corridor occurred approximately four years before those in the Qilian Mountains. Similarly, the changes in the warm indices in the western Hexi Corridor preceded those of the other regions.