Declining hailstorm frequency in China during 1961–2015 and its potential influential factors

Abstract

Based on 55 years (from 1961 to 2015) of ground‐based hailstorm and atmospheric sounding observations, the climatological characteristics of hailstorms in China, along with potential influencing factors, were analysed. We found that hailstorms exhibit large spatial and temporal variability, with the peak occurring in spring in south China, and in summer in north China. The Tibetan Plateau (TTP) is a region with high hailstorm frequency. Overall, the frequency of hailstorms has decreased over the 55 years, although there was an increase from 1961 to 1985. In terms of diurnal variability, while hailstorm frequency peaks in the afternoon in most of China, it peaks during the night or early morning in southwest China. The magnitude of the peak increased during the 1960s and 1970s, and then decreased afterwards. Hailstorms are negatively correlated with daily mean temperature but are positively correlated with diurnal temperature range, convective available potential energy (CAPE) and totals–totals index. The increase of hailstorms during the period from 1961 to 1985 is mainly correlated with the increase in CAPE over the TTP region, while the decrease of hailstorms afterwards is correlated with all four convective parameters. The finding has significant implications for the potential impact of increasing greenhouse gases on climatological changes in hailstorm.