Abstract
Abstract. The recent advancements in climate modeling partially build on the improvement of horizontal resolution in different components of the simulating system. A higher resolution is expected to provide a better representation of the climate variability, and in this work we are particularly interested in the potential improvements in representing extreme events of high temperature and precipitation. The two versions of the Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC-CM2) model used here adopt the highest horizontal resolutions available within the last family of the global coupled climate models developed at CMCC to participate in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Projects, Phase 6 (CMIP6) effort. The main aim of this study is to document the ability of the CMCC-CM2 models to represent the spatial distribution of extreme events of temperature and precipitation, under the historical period, comparing model results to observations, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis (ERA5), multi-source weighted-ensemble precipitation (MSWEP) and Climate Hazards Group infrared precipitation with station data (CHIRPS) observations. For a more detailed evaluation we use both 6-hourly and daily time series, to compute indices representative of intense and extreme conditions. In terms of mean climate, the two models are able to realistically reproduce the main patterns of temperature and precipitation. The high resolution version (1/4∘ horizontal resolution) of the atmospheric model provides better results than the standard resolution one (1°), not only in terms of means but also in terms of intense and extreme events of temperature defined at daily and 6-hourly frequencies. This is also the case of average and intense precipitation. On the other hand the extreme precipitation is not improved by the adoption of a higher horizontal resolution.
Highlights
An extreme climate event can have an impact on human activities, either as direct and indirect damages and, as loss of human life
Simulations of general circulation models (GCMs) under the historical climate radiative forcing have been assessed in previous generations of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Projects (CMIP; Flato et al, 2013) and, more recently for CMIP6 (Eyring et al, 2016)
We present an analysis based on two versions of the GCM developed at the Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC-CM, Cherchi et al, 2019) that we use for two simulations of the historical climate (1950– 2014) differing only in their atmospheric horizontal resolution: HR with a horizontal resolution of 1◦ and VHR with a resolution of 1/4 of a degree
Summary
An extreme climate event can have an impact on human activities, either as direct and indirect damages and, as loss of human life. For this reason it is very relevant to investigate the ability of general circulation models (GCMs) to simulate extreme events and to understand how the changing climate is influencing their distribution, frequency and location. Simulations of GCMs under the historical climate radiative forcing have been assessed in previous generations of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Projects (CMIP; Flato et al, 2013) and, more recently for CMIP6 (Eyring et al, 2016). The two models are described in detail
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call