A contrasting study of freezing disasters in January 2008 and in winter of 1954/1955 in China

Abstract

The present paper has made a comparison of major similarities and differences of extreme cold events between the cold and warm periods for recent 50 years, in order to gain a better insight into the impact of the global warming on extreme cold events in China. Two typical events of low temperature, ice freezing and snow disasters that occurred in January 2008 and in the winter of 1954/1955, respectively, are selected as representative cases for the cold period (1950’s–1970’s) and the warm period (1980’s-present). The contrasting study has revealed that these two events both occurred under long-persistent blocking circulation over Eurasian continent, with continuous invasions of strong cold air into China mainland. They nearly brought about similar weather disasters such as extensive low temperature, record-breaking freezing rains and exceptionally heavy snowfalls. However, due to active northward transport of warm and moist air from Bay of Bengal and Indo-China Peninsula in the warm period, the January 2008 case had longer freezing rain days and heavier snowstorms in South China, thus leading to much more severe damage to electric grids and transportations. The case of the 1954/1955 winter was a stronger, extreme cold event than the case of January 2008, in terms of magnitudes of temperature drop and severity of impact on river icing. It was gradually recovered to normal condition while the case of January 2008 had a very rapid recovery to warming condition due to impact of the global warming.