scholarly journals Variability and Trends of High Temperature, High Humidity, and Sultry Weather in the Warm Season in China during the Period 1961–2004

2011 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohui Shi ◽  
Chungu Lu ◽  
Xiangde Xu

Abstract Using the daily maximum air temperature and mean humidity observations at 394 surface weather stations across China, the changes in the annual number of days of high temperature weather (HTW), high humidity weather (HHW), and sultry weather (STW) in China over the period 1961–2004 are studied. The results indicate that there were considerable spatial differences and temporal variability of HTW, HHW, and STW across China. Under a climatic mean condition, a notable feature is that southeastern China is the region of collocation of high values of the annual number of days of HTW, HHW, and STW, as well as the region of the most significant variabilities of these parameters. About 55% of the stations in China have increasing trends of the annual number of days of HTW. Most stations in China show decreasing trends of the annual number of days of HHW and are mainly located either in the area south of 30°N or in northern and northeastern China. The stations with increasing trends of the annual number of days of STW are mainly located in northern China, while the stations that have decreasing trends are primarily located in southern China. The analysis results suggest that the variability of the annual number of days of STW corresponds mainly to HTW, and less to HHW. The change in the East Asian monsoon may be responsible for the changes of these statistics in extreme weather in China.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Qin Li ◽  
Haibin Wu ◽  
Jun Cheng ◽  
Shuya Zhu ◽  
Chunxia Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract The East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) is one of the most dynamic components of the global climate system. Although poorly understood, knowledge of long-term spatial differences in EAWM variability during the glacial–interglacial cycles is important for understanding the dynamic processes of the EAWM. We reconstructed the spatiotemporal characteristics of the EAWM since the last glacial maximum (LGM) using a comparison of proxy records and long-term transient simulations. A loess grain-size record from northern China (a sensitive EAWM proxy) and the sea surface temperature gradient of an EAWM index in sediments of the southern South China Sea were compared. The data–model comparison indicates pronounced spatial differences in EAWM evolution, with a weakened EAWM since the LGM in northern China but a strengthened EAWM from the LGM to the early Holocene, followed by a weakening trend, in southern China. The model results suggest that variations in the EAWM in northern China were driven mainly by changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration and Northern Hemisphere ice sheets, whereas orbital insolation and ice sheets were important drivers in southern China. We propose that the relative importance of insolation, ice sheets, and atmospheric CO2 for EAWM evolution varied spatially within East Asia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 673-689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Macy E. Howarth ◽  
Christopher D. Thorncroft ◽  
Lance F. Bosart

Abstract Extreme precipitation can have significant adverse impacts on infrastructure and property, human health, and local economies. This paper examines recent changes in extreme precipitation in the northeast United States. Daily station data from 58 stations missing less than 5% of days for the years 1979–2014 from the U.S. Historical Climatology Network were used to analyze extreme precipitation, defined as the top 1% of days with precipitation. A statistically significant (95% confidence level) increasing trend of the threshold for the top 1% of extreme precipitation events was found (0.3 mm yr−1). This increasing trend was due to both an increase in the frequency of extreme events and the magnitude of extreme events. Rainfall events ≥ 150 mm (24-h accumulation) increased in frequency from 6 events between 1979 and 1996 to 25 events between 1997 and 2014, a 317% increase. The annual daily maximum precipitation, or the highest recorded precipitation amount in a given year, increased by an average of 1.6 mm yr−1, a total increase of 58.0 mm. Decreasing trends in extreme precipitation were observed east of Lake Erie during the warm season. Increasing trends in extreme precipitation were most robust during the fall months of September, October, and November, and particularly at locations further inland. The analysis showed that increases in events that were tropical in nature, or associated with tropical moisture, led to the observed increase in extreme precipitation during the fall months.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (14) ◽  
pp. 5905-5917
Author(s):  
Ming Luo ◽  
Ngar-Cheung Lau ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Qiang Zhang ◽  
Zhen Liu

AbstractThis study investigates the association between summer high temperature extremes (HTEs) over China and the Pacific meridional mode (PMM) that is characterized by an anomalous north–south sea surface temperature gradient and an anomalous surface circulation over the northeastern subtropical Pacific. It is found that the HTE activities over most parts of southern China (particularly eastern China) are prominently intensified during the positive PMM phase and weakened during the negative phase. Further examinations suggest that the PMM is linked with HTEs in China through processes that entail both eastward and westward development of signals emanating from the PMM site. The westward development is associated with the formation of an anomalous low-level cyclone over the western North Pacific (WNP), which may be viewed as a Matsuno–Gill-type response to the off-equatorial heating in the eastern Pacific. This circulation change is accompanied by anomalous ascent over WNP and northern China, and subsidence over eastern China. On the other hand, the eastward development process is linked to the PMM-induced displacement of the East Asian jet stream and the generation of a midlatitude Rossby wave train. In the positive PMM phase, the above circulation changes are accompanied by anomalous air subsidence and enhanced adiabatic heating, reduced precipitation, anomalous lower-level anticyclone, and rising surface pressure over the eastern part of China. Moreover, the land surface of that region receives more solar radiation. Opposite changes are discernible over northern China. These changes are favorable for the occurrence and persistence of HTEs over eastern China and tend to suppress HTEs over northern China.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (19) ◽  
pp. 6909-6921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruidan Chen ◽  
Zhiping Wen ◽  
Riyu Lu

Abstract Southern China, located in the tropical–subtropical East Asian monsoonal region, presents a unique anticyclonic–cyclonic circulation pattern during extreme heat (EH), obviously different from the typical anticyclone responsible for EH in many other regions. Associated with the evolution of EH in southern China, the anticyclonic–cyclonic anomalies propagate northwestward over the Philippines and southern China. Before the EH onsets, the anticyclonic anomaly dominates southern China, resulting in stronger subsidence over southern China and stronger southerly (southwesterly) flow over the western (northern) margins of southern China. The southerly (southwesterly) flow transports more water vapor to the north of southern China, thus, together with the local stronger subsidence, resulting in drier air condition and accordingly favoring the occurrence of EH. Conversely, after the EH onsets, the cyclonic component approaches southern China and offsets the high temperature. The oscillations of temperature and circulation anomalies over southern China exhibit a periodicity of about 10 days and indicate the influence of a quasi-biweekly oscillation, which originates from the tropical western Pacific and propagates northwestward. Therefore, the 5–25-day-filtered data are extracted to further analyze the quasi-biweekly oscillation. It turns out that the evolution of the filtered circulation remarkably resembles the original anomalies with comparable amplitudes, indicating that the quasi-biweekly oscillation is critical for the occurrence of EH in southern China. The quasi-biweekly oscillation could explain more than 50% of the intraseasonal variance of daily maximum temperature Tmax and vorticity over southern China and 80% of the warming amplitude of EH onsets. The close relationship between the circulation of the quasi-biweekly oscillation and the EH occurrence indicates the possibility of medium-range forecasting for high temperature in southern China.


1998 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 521-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
David H. Bromwich ◽  
Biao Chen ◽  
Keith M. Hines ◽  
Richard I. Cullather

To evaluate the greatest impact that sea-ice anomalies around Antarctica could have on the global atmosphere, 15 year seasonal cycle simulations are conducted with the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Climate Model version 2.1. Sensitivity simulations are performed with the following conditions: (1) all sea ice in the Southern Hemisphere is replaced by year-round open water, but the permanent ice shelves are retained (NSIS); and (2) all sea ice in the Southern Hemisphere and the major ice shelves are removed and replaced by open water (NISH). The results are compared to a standard run (CNT) with boundary conditions set for the present climate. The comparison shows that trains of positive and negative anomalies in zonal-mean fields extend into the tropical latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Anomalies are largest during April-October. The additional removal of the ice shelves in NISH enhances the response, as zonally averaged anomalies are similar in pattern to those in NSIS but are roughly twice as large poleward of 50° S, and only slightly larger farther north. Anomalies in the eddy fields are found in both hemispheres. in NISH, and to a lesser degree in NSIS. these anomalies appear to be related to a delayed northern advance over China during June of the rain front associated with the summer monsoon. Consequently, precipitation is enhanced in middle and southern China and decreased in northern China. Observational analyses have also found links between Antarctic sea-ice variations and modulations of the East Asian monsoon.


2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 1204-1213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nobuhiko Endo ◽  
Tetsuzo Yasunari

Abstract The climatology and long-term trends of low-cloud conditions over China were examined using the Extended Edited Cloud Report Archive data from 1971 to 1996. Linear regression analysis was applied to time series of clear-sky frequencies and low-cloud frequencies, and low-cloud amounts when present. Over the 26-yr study period, the clear-sky frequency increased over northern China. During summer, the frequency of cumuliform clouds decreased over almost all of China. A significant decrease characterized the trend in cumulonimbus (Cb) frequency; however, the Cb cloud amount when present increased over the Yangtze River basin and southern China. Increasing trends in stratocumulus (Sc) cloud amount when present were also observed over much of China.


2021 ◽  
pp. bjophthalmol-2021-319343
Author(s):  
Peizeng Yang ◽  
Wanyun Zhang ◽  
Zhijun Chen ◽  
Han Zhang ◽  
Guannan Su ◽  
...  

Background/aimsFuchs’ uveitis syndrome (FUS) is one of the frequently misdiagnosed uveitis entities, which is partly due to the absence of internationally recognised diagnostic criteria. This study was performed to develop and evaluate a set of revised diagnostic criteria for FUS.MethodsThe clinical data of Chinese patients with FUS and patients with non-FUS were collected and analysed from a tertiary referral centre between April 2008 and December 2020. A total of 593 patients with FUS and 625 patients with non-FUS from northern China were enrolled for the development of diagnostic criteria for FUS. Three hundred and seventy-seven patients with FUS and 503 patients with non-FUS from southern China were used to validate the criteria. Clinical symptoms and ocular signs were collected from all patients with FUS and patients with non-FUS. Multivariate two-step cluster analysis, logistic regression and decision tree algorithms in combination with the clinical judgement of uveitis experts were used to revise diagnostic criteria for FUS.ResultsThree essential findings including diffuse iris depigmentation, absence of posterior synechiae, mild inflammation in the anterior chamber at presentation and five associated findings including mostly unilateral involvement, cataract, vitreous opacities, absence of acute symptoms and characteristic iris nodules were used in the development of FUS diagnostic criteria. All essential findings were required for the diagnosis of FUS, and the diagnosis was further strengthened by the presence of associated findings.ConclusionRevised diagnostic criteria for FUS were developed and validated by analysing data from Chinese patients and showed a high sensitivity (96.55%) and specificity (97.42%).


2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (23) ◽  
pp. 5011-5023 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. A. Vincent ◽  
T. C. Peterson ◽  
V. R. Barros ◽  
M. B. Marino ◽  
M. Rusticucci ◽  
...  

Abstract A workshop on enhancing climate change indices in South America was held in Maceió, Brazil, in August 2004. Scientists from eight southern countries brought daily climatological data from their region for a meticulous assessment of data quality and homogeneity, and for the preparation of climate change indices that can be used for analyses of changes in climate extremes. This study presents an examination of the trends over 1960–2000 in the indices of daily temperature extremes. The results indicate no consistent changes in the indices based on daily maximum temperature while significant trends were found in the indices based on daily minimum temperature. Significant increasing trends in the percentage of warm nights and decreasing trends in the percentage of cold nights were observed at many stations. It seems that this warming is mostly due to more warm nights and fewer cold nights during the summer (December–February) and fall (March–May). The stations with significant trends appear to be located closer to the west and east coasts of South America.


The Holocene ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 705-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fengling Yu ◽  
Yongqiang Zong ◽  
Jeremy M Lloyd ◽  
Melanie J Leng ◽  
Adam D Switzer ◽  
...  

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