Teleconnection between ENSO and climate in South China

Abstract

This study investigates the features of the teleconnection between El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the climate over the region with the latitude from 21°N to 25°N and longitude from 111°E to 116°E in South China for the period from 1960 to 2005. The climate variables analyzed are the monthly means of daily maximum temperature (Tmax), minimum temperature (Tmin), precipitation and relative humidity (RH), which are recorded at 20 weather stations over the region. The cross correlation coefficients between the ENSO index and those climate variable anomalies are calculated to evaluate the strength of the teleconnection. The analysis results reveal that ENSO has positive influence on most of the climate variables in the study region. Specifically, ENSO has significant effects on Tmin (but not Tmax) with the corresponding time delay of about 4 months. In addition, ENSO has considerable influence on precipitation and RH over the study region with teleconnection lag time of around 2 and 1 month, respectively.