scholarly journals The 2017–2018 Winter Drought in North China and Its Causes

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lijuan Wang ◽  
Lin Wang ◽  
Yuyun Liu ◽  
Wen Chen
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
North China ◽  
Meteorological Drought ◽  
Wave Pattern ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Water Vapor Transport ◽  
Positive Phase ◽  
Dynamical Condition ◽  
La Nina ◽  
The Eu

A meteorological drought was observed over North China in the 2017–2018 winter, which was accompanied by record-breaking consecutive non-precipitation days over many regions of central North China. Inspection on historical observations beginning in 1951 suggest that it was the fourth driest winter during the past 67 years. The possible cause of this drought was then analyzed. It has been suggested that the co-occurrence of the positive phase of the Eurasian (EU) teleconnection pattern and La Niña have played a crucial role. On one hand, both the positive phase of the EU pattern and La Niña could have enhanced the lower-tropospheric northerly winds over East Asia. The northward water vapor transport towards North China was thereby weakened, providing an unfavorable moisture environment for precipitation. On the other hand, the EU-like wave pattern in the mid-latitude was conducive to anomalous descending motion over mid-latitude East Asia, creating an unfavorable dynamical condition for precipitation. A combination of the above two effects lead to the occurrence of the North China drought in the 2017 winter.

scholarly journals Diversity of East China Summer Rainfall Change in Post-El Niño Summers

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Zhang ◽  
Xiaoye Zhou ◽  
Pang-Chi Hsu ◽  
Fei Liu
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
North China ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Summer Rainfall ◽  
La Niña ◽  
East China ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Huaihe River Valley ◽  
Precipitation Anomalies ◽  
Cluster 2

East China has experienced positive precipitation anomalies in post-El Niño summers, mainly in the Yangtze-Huaihe River Valley. This kind of monsoonal rainfall change induced by El Niño, however, is not always the same due to El Niño diversity and mean state change. Here, we use cluster analysis on the post-El Niño (PE) East China summer precipitation anomalies to identify the diversity of this El Niño-induced monsoon change. The result shows that PE East China summer rainfall anomalies mainly display three different modes for all selected 20 El Niño events from 1957 to 2016. Cluster 1 shows the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River demonstrate strong wet anomalies, while South and North China are dominated by dry anomalies, similar to a sandwich mode. Cluster 2 is distinguished by dry anomalies over South China and wet anomalies over North China, exhibiting a dipole mode. Compared with Cluster 1, the change caused by Cluster 3 is different, showing negative anomalies over the Yangtze-Huaihe River Valley. The three clusters are correlated with successive events of El Niño, a quick transfer to a strong La Niña and a quick transfer to a weak La Niña respectively. The associated anomalous anticyclone (AAC) focuses on (120°E, 20°N) in Cluster 1, which expands southward for Cluster 2 and moves eastward for Cluster 3. The feedback of AAC-sea surface temperature (SST) mainly works for supporting the AAC in Cluster 1, but it is weak for Cluster 2; the strong easterly anomalies related to La Niña contribute to the AAC location change for Cluster 2. Both AAC-SST feedback and easterly anomalies support the AAC of Cluster 3. The CMIP5 output can capture these diverse responses in circulation except that their simulated AAC for Cluster 1 is significant to the east of the observed.

scholarly journals The Effects of El Niño-South Oscillation on the Winter Haze Pollution of China

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuyun Zhao ◽  
Hua Zhang ◽  
Bing Xie
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Anthropogenic Aerosols ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Haze Pollution ◽  
Haze Days

Abstract. It is reported in previous studies that El Niño-South Oscillation (ENSO) influences not only the summer monsoon, but also the winter monsoon over East Asia. This contains some clues that ENSO may affect the winter haze pollution of China, which has become a serious problem in recent decades, through influencing the winter climate of East Asia. In this work, we explore the effects of ENSO on the winter (from December to February) haze pollution of China statistically and numerically. Statistical results reveal that the haze days of southern China tend to be less (more) than normal in El Niño (La Niña) winter; whereas the winter haze days of northern and eastern China have no significant relationship with ENSO. Results from numerical simulations show that under the emission level of aerosols for the year 2010, the winter-average atmospheric contents of anthropogenic aerosols over southern China are generally more (less) than normal in El Niño (La Niña) winter. It is because that the transports of aerosols from South and Southeast Asia to southern China are enhanced (weakened), which mask the better (worse) scavenging conditions for aerosols in El Niño (La Niña) winter. The probability density function (PDF) of the simulated daily surface concentrations of aerosols over southern China indicates that the region tends to have less clean and moderate (heavy) haze days, but more heavy (moderate) haze days in El Niño (La Niña) winter.

scholarly journals An Analysis of the Large-Scale Climate Anomalies Associated with the Snowstorms Affecting China in January 2008

2009 ◽  
Vol 137 (3) ◽  
pp. 1111-1131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Wen ◽  
Song Yang ◽  
Arun Kumar ◽  
Peiqun Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Southern China ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Water Vapor Transport ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Climate Anomalies ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Western Asia ◽  
The Arctic Oscillation

Abstract Extraordinarily frequent and long-lasting snowstorms affected China in January 2008, causing above-normal precipitation, below-normal temperature, and severe icing conditions over central–southern China. These snowstorms were closely linked to the change in the Middle East jet stream (MEJS), which intensified and shifted southeastward. The change in MEJS was accompanied by southeastward shifts of the ridge and the trough over Europe and western Asia. The intensified MEJS also strengthened the trough embedded in the southern branch of the subtropical westerlies over the southern Tibetan Plateau, enhancing the water vapor transport from western Asia and the Bay of Bengal to China. In the meantime, the subtropical western Pacific high (SWPH) was stronger and its ridgeline was farther north than normal. The anomalous high slowed down the eastward propagation of weather systems to the Pacific and favored convergence of water vapor over central–southern China. The MEJS is usually strong when the Arctic Oscillation (AO) is positive and the SWPH is farther north than normal in La Niña winters. Compared to the SWPH and the Niño-3.4 sea surface temperature (SST), the MEJS and the AO exert stronger influences on the temperature and the precipitation over central–southern China, despite the fact that these possible impacting factors are not completely independent from each other. Although the La Niña event might contribute to the climate anomalies through its relation with the SWPH in January 2008, an analysis of historical events indicates that La Niña conditions alone can hardly cause severe and persistent snow conditions over central–southern China. In addition, compared to the Niño-3.4 SST and the SWPH, the conditions of December MEJS and AO exhibit stronger precursory signals of the variability of January temperature over central–southern China.

Spatio-temporal variability of lightning and convective activity over South/South-East Asia with an emphasis during El Niño and La Niña

2017 ◽  
Vol 197 ◽  
pp. 150-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Upal Saha ◽  
Devendraa Siingh ◽  
S.K. Midya ◽  
R.P. Singh ◽  
A.K. Singh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
El Niño ◽  
Temporal Variability ◽  
El Nino ◽  
La Niña ◽  
South East Asia ◽  
Convective Activity ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Spatio Temporal

scholarly journals The Asymmetric Influence of the Two Types of El Niño and La Niña on Summer Rainfall over Southeast China

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (13) ◽  
pp. 4567-4582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Afzaal Karori ◽  
Jianping Li ◽  
Fei-Fei Jin
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Summer Rainfall ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Positive Phase ◽  
Negative Phase ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Asymmetric Response ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract In this study, the authors demonstrate that the two types of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) have asymmetric features with respect to the impact of their positive and negative phases on boreal summer rainfall over the Yangtze River Valley (YRV) and South China (SC). The relationship between rainfall over the YRV and the warm pool (WP) La Niña is positive and significant, whereas the relationship with the WP El Niño is not. In the case of the cold tongue (CT) ENSO, its positive phase has a positive influence, while there is no significant relationship with the negative phase. In contrast, rainfall over SC has a significant positive relationship with WP El Niño, but a nonsignificant relationship with WP La Niña. The positive phase of the CT ENSO has a significant negative influence on SC rainfall, while the negative phase has a nonsignificant impact. An asymmetric atmospheric response to the asymmetric sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) was also observed in the lower troposphere. The location of the center of the anomalous circulations over the study region differs during the opposite phases of the two types of ENSO. This asymmetric response is likely to be linked to the different spatial patterns of the two types of El Niño and La Niña. Atmospheric general circulation models confirm the authors' analysis of the observed data. Numerical simulations show that the asymmetric response of the lower atmosphere is driven mainly by differing SSTA patterns in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

scholarly journals ENSO Transition from La Niña to El Niño Drives Prolonged Spring–Summer Drought over North China

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (9) ◽  
pp. 3509-3523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lixia Zhang ◽  
Peili Wu ◽  
Tianjun Zhou ◽  
Chan Xiao
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
North China ◽  
El Nino ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Summer Drought ◽  
Westerly Jet ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Preceding Winter

Persistent drought is a major meteorological disaster causing vast agricultural damage and long-term regional water crises. Over north China, this type of drought tends to begin in spring and to persist until summer with severe societal impacts. This paper aims to identify the large-scale dynamic drivers of the prolonged spring–summer drought (PSSD) over north China. This analysis has shown that the north China PSSD is associated with a persistent anomalous low-level cyclonic circulation spanning the midlatitude North Pacific from spring to summer with reduced moisture transport to north China, in combination with a tropospheric cooling along the East Asian upper-level westerly jet with dynamically forced anomalous descent above. Seven of the selected eight north China PSSD events occurred when La Niña transitioned to El Niño with a negative North Pacific Oscillation (NPO) phase in the preceding winter. The two key circulation anomalies in spring are set directly by a negative NPO phase generated in the preceding winter. The NPO, in turn, forces an El Niño onset in summer through the so-called seasonal footprinting mechanism. Consequently, sea surface temperature anomalies of El Niño in summer suppress Indian monsoon rainfall, triggering the tropospheric temperature cooling over East Asia through a circumglobal teleconnection along the East Asian upper-level westerly jet. Modeling analysis of the long preindustrial control simulation confirms the above findings. This study demonstrates that ENSO phase transition from La Niña to El Niño is one of the important precursors of north China PSSD.

scholarly journals Different El Niño Types and Tropical Cyclone Landfall in East Asia

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (19) ◽  
pp. 6510-6523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Zhang ◽  
H.-F. Graf ◽  
Yee Leung ◽  
Michael Herzog
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
East Asia ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Malay Peninsula ◽  
Cp El Niño ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Ep El Niño

Abstract This study examines whether there exist significant differences in tropical cyclone (TC) landfall between central Pacific (CP) El Niño, eastern Pacific (EP) El Niño, and La Niña during the peak TC season (June–October) and how and to what extent CP El Niño influences TC landfall over East Asia for the period 1961–2009. The peak TC season is subdivided into summer [June–August (JJA)] and autumn [September–October (SO)]. The results are summarized as follows: (i) during the summer of CP El Niño years, TCs are more likely to make landfall over East Asia because of a strong easterly steering flow anomaly induced by the westward shift of the subtropical high and northward-shifted TC genesis. In particular, TCs have a greater probability of making landfall over Japan and Korea during the summer of CP El Niño years. (ii) In the autumn of CP El Niño years, TC landfall in most areas of East Asia, especially Indochina, the Malay Peninsula, and the Philippines, is likely to be suppressed because the large-scale circulation resembles that of EP El Niño years. (iii) During the whole peak TC season [June–October (JJASO)] of CP El Niño years, TCs are more likely to make landfall over Japan and Korea. TC landfall in East Asia as a whole has an insignificant association with CP El Niño during the peak TC season. In addition, more (less) TCs are likely to make landfall in China, Indochina, the Malay Peninsula, and the Philippines during the peak TC season of La Niña (EP El Niño) years.

scholarly journals The Zonal Oscillation and the Driving Mechanisms of the Extreme Western North Pacific Subtropical High and Its Impacts on East Asian Summer Precipitation

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (10) ◽  
pp. 3025-3050 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tat Fan Cheng ◽  
Mengqian Lu ◽  
Lun Dai
Keyword(s):  
Summer Monsoon ◽  
El Niño ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
El Nino ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Positive Phase ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Asian Summer ◽  
Zonal Oscillation

Abstract This paper scrutinizes the zonal oscillation of the western North Pacific subtropical high (WNPSH) via diagnosing its two extreme phases, which are defined by the top 10% strongest (positive phase) and the weakest (negative phase) WNPSH index (WNPSHI) days during summers in 1979–2016. Key findings include the following: a tripole pattern consisting of intensified (weakened) precipitation over the Maritime Continent and the East Asian summer monsoon regions, and suppressed (strengthened) precipitation over the western North Pacific summer monsoon region during positive (negative) WNPSH phases; a westward movement of WNPSH-induced precipitation anomalies that subsequently affects eastern China, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula at different time lags; an OLR–vorticity pattern explained by atmospheric responses to thermal sources is suggested to drive the oscillation; and the competitive interaction of local air–sea feedbacks, especially during the positive phase. In addition, moderate-to-strong positive correlations between the WNPSHI and the Niño-3.4 index are found on 1–2-, 2–3-, and 3–6-yr time scales; both exhibit decadal shifts to a higher-frequency mode, suggesting the intensification of both the zonal WNPSH oscillation and the ENSO under the changing climate and their close interdecadal association. A nonlinear quasi-biennial WNPSH–ENSO relationship is identified: the positive (negative) WNPSH phase sometimes occurs during 1) a decaying El Niño (La Niña) in the preceding summer/autumn, and/or 2) a developing La Niña (El Niño) in the current summer/autumn. A full ENSO transition from moderate-to-strong El Niño to La Niña is often seen during the positive phase, offering potential in predicting ENSO events and extreme WNPSH phases and thereby the summer monsoon rainfall in East Asia.

scholarly journals Impacts of ENSO On The Seasonal Transition From Summer to Winter in East Asia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunyong Kim ◽  
Jong-Seong Kug
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
El Niño ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Temperature Drop ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Seasonal Transition ◽  
La Nina

Abstract The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has seasonally distinct impacts on the East Asian climate so that its seasonal transition depends on the phases of El Niño and La Niña. Here, we investigate the seasonal transition of surface temperature in East Asia from boreal summer to winter based on the warm/cold ENSO developing phases. During La Niña years, from summer to winter the continuous temperature drop in East Asia tends to be faster than that during El Niño, indicating a latter start and earlier termination of fall. This different seasonal transition in East Asia according to phases of ENSO is mostly explained by atmospheric responses to the seasonally-dependent tropical/subtropical precipitation forcings in ENSO developing phases. The anomalous positive precipitation in the subtropical North Pacific exists only in September and leads to the subtropical cyclonic flow during El Niño years. The resultant northerly anomalies on the left side of subtropical cyclone are favorable for transporting cold advection towards East Asia. However, the positive subtropical precipitation disappears and teleconnection to East Asia is strongly controlled by the negative precipitation anomalies in the western North Pacific, modulating the anticyclonic anomalies in East Asia during the early winter (November). Therefore, these seasonally sharp precipitation changes associated with ENSO evolution induce distinctive teleconnection changes from northerly (summer) to southerly (winter) anomalies, which eventually affect seasonal transition in East Asia. Also, the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 models reasonably simulate the relatively rapid temperature transition in East Asia during La Niña years, supporting the observational argument.

scholarly journals ENSO Effect on Interannual Variability of Spring Aerosols over East Asia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anbao Zhu ◽  
Haiming Xu ◽  
Jiechun Deng ◽  
Jing Ma ◽  
Shuhui Li
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Interannual Variability ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Carbonaceous Aerosol ◽  
Indochina Peninsula ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
La Nina

Abstract. Effects of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on the interannual variability of spring aerosols over East Asia are investigated using the Modern Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications Version 2 (MERRA-2) reanalysis aerosol data. Results show that the ENSO has a crucial effect on the spring aerosols over the Indochina Peninsula, southern China and the ocean south of Japan. The above-normal (below-normal) aerosols are found over these regions during the El Niño (La Niña) ensuing spring. In contrast to the local aerosol diffusion in winter, the ENSO affects East Asian aerosols in the following spring mainly via modulating upstream aerosol generation and transport processes. The underlying physical mechanism is that during the El Niño (La Niña) ensuing spring, the dry (wet) air and less (more) precipitation are beneficial for the increase (reduction) of biomass burning activities over the northern Indochina Peninsula, resulting in more (less) carbonaceous aerosol emissions. On the other hand, the anomalous anticyclone (cyclone) over the western North Pacific (WNP) associated with El Niño (La Niña) enhances (weakens) the low-level southwesterly wind from the northern Indochina Peninsula to southern Japan, which transports more (less) carbonaceous aerosol downstream. Anomalous precipitation plays a role in reducing aerosols over the source region, but its washout effect over the downstream region is limited. The ENSO’s impact on the ensuing spring aerosols is mainly attributed to the eastern Pacific ENSO rather than the central Pacific ENSO.

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