Abstract
Spatial and temporal variations in daytime and night-time precipitation and differences in these variations between the dry and wet seasons were investigated based on a daily precipitation dataset comprising data from 73 meteorological stations on the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau from 1960 to 2017. The results show that both daytime and night-time precipitation and the numbers of daytime and night-time precipitation days exhibited nonsignificant downward trends over a long timescale but fluctuated on an interdecadal scale. A complicated relationship was found between elevation and precipitation because the vertical precipitation gradient first increased with elevation and then decreased with elevation when the elevation exceeded 1500 m. Additionally, the average annual precipitation was clearly greater at night-time than in the daytime during the corresponding period. Furthermore, heavy and moderate rainfall contributed more than half of the total annual precipitation, and several rainfall days contributed much of the annual precipitation, particularly at night; night-time precipitation produced 33% of the average annual precipitation on only 5% of annual rainfall days. Additionally, we found significant correlation between El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) indexes and precipitation. These findings are valuable for coping with meteorological disasters associated with extreme precipitation under global climate change.
Highlights
Diurnal precipitation variations play an important role in the climate system on regional and even global scales and significantly impact water resources security, ecosystems, agricultural activity, human health and socioeconomics [1–3]
Similar studies have been conducted in other regions across China, such as in southern China, the Yellow River Basin, the Qilian Mountains, Chongqing and Taiwan Province, and these findings have shown that diurnal precipitation exhibits obvious spatiotemporal variability resulting from variations in influencing factors [12–16]
Based on an intraday dataset comprising data recorded at 73 meteorological stations on the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, this paper analyzed the changes in daytime and nighttime precipitation that occurred between 1960 and 2017
Summary
Diurnal precipitation variations play an important role in the climate system on regional and even global scales and significantly impact water resources security, ecosystems, agricultural activity, human health and socioeconomics [1–3]. As a result of surface temperature, solar radiation and local atmospheric circulation, the daytime and night-time rainfall presents obvious spatial and temporal differences and is closely related to the change in daily precipitation [4–6]. Yu et al [7] and Zhu et al [8] analyzed the spatial distribution of summertime precipitation in China on a national scale and pointed out that diurnal and regional differences existed in the appearance of summertime precipitation peaks. Similar studies have been conducted in other regions across China, such as in southern China, the Yellow River Basin, the Qilian Mountains, Chongqing and Taiwan Province, and these findings have shown that diurnal precipitation exhibits obvious spatiotemporal variability resulting from variations in influencing factors [12–16]. The above research has enriched our knowledge of diurnal precipitation changes, but few studies focus on the multiple-timescale evolution of daytime and night-time precipitation, especially on the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, which exhibits a fragile ecology and serious rainfall erosion
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