Abstract
The variation of precipitation plays an important role in the eco-hydrological processes and water resources regimes on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Based on the monthly mean precipitation data of 65 meteorological stations over the TP and surrounding areas from 1961 to 2015, variations, trends and temporal–spatial distribution of precipitation have been studied; furthermore, the possible reasons were also discussed preliminarily. The results show that the annual mean precipitation on the TP was 465.5 mm during 1961–2015. The precipitation in summer (June–August (JJA)) accounted for 60.1% of the whole year’s precipitation, the precipitation in summer half-year (May–October) accounted for 91.0%, while the precipitation in winter half-year (November–April) only accounted for 9.0% of the whole year’s precipitation. During 1961–2015, the annual precipitation trend was 3.8 mm/10a and the seasonal precipitation trends were 3.0 mm/10a, 0.0 mm/10a, −0.1 mm/10a and 0.4 mm/10a in spring, summer, autumn and winter on the TP, respectively. The precipitation has decreased from the southeastern to northwestern TP; the trend of precipitation has decreased with the increase of altitude, but the correlation was not significant. The rising of air temperature and land cover changes may cause the precipitation by changing the hydrological cycle and energy budget. Furthermore, different patterns of atmospheric circulation can also influence precipitation variation in different regions.
Highlights
According to the fifth report from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the global surface temperature has risen 0.85 ◦ C on average [1,2]
The annual precipitation distribution in the Tibetan Plateau is very uneven and the rainfall is mainly concentrated in summer [54]
The precipitation in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is mainly concentrated in the summer half-year
Summary
According to the fifth report from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the global surface temperature has risen 0.85 ◦ C on average [1,2]. The areas where the precipitation increased were mainly located in the central, western and southern TP, while it has decreased in the eastern regions. The meteorological data from stations may be influenced by location, environment, instrument and statistical method, resulting in the inhomogeneity of data series [45,46,47]; it would bring inevitable wrong to analysis on climate change. Therehas areafew detailedspatial analyses about local climate the contrast analysis climate in different regions is a prerequisite for understanding the change in each regionofon the TP.variation. From 65 stations in correction, the TP andthe surrounding data improved significantly We these useddata reintegration data toAfter analyze the trend and range of regions. Results and obtained the conclusion about different precipitation variations in each station
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