The Spatio–Temporal Variation of Spring Frost in Xinjiang from 1971 to 2020

Abstract

Under the background of intensifying global change, the frequent occurrence of agrometeorological disasters has an adverse impact on the social economy. Low-temperature weather in spring is one of the main agrometeorological disasters in Xinjiang. Studying the spatial and temporal characteristics of low temperatures in spring in Xinjiang is of great significance. However, research on the spatiotemporal variation of spring frost in arid areas is currently lacking, which limits our understanding of the occurrence and development mechanism of typical disastrous weather events in arid areas. Therefore, on the basis of the daily meteorological data of 40 meteorological stations in the Xinjiang Province of China from 1971 to 2020, we studied the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of spring frost in Xinjiang through trend analysis, the Mann–Kendall test, Kriging interpolation, and wavelet analysis. Results showed that the frequency of spring frost had the spatial trend from Northern Xinjiang to Southern Xinjiang. The occurrence frequency of spring frost in the entire and northern region of Xinjiang had an upward trend, whereas that in Southern Xinjiang showed a downward trend. Severe and moderate spring frost events mainly occurred in Xinjiang. The duration of spring frost had the characteristics of Northern Xinjiang to Southern Xinjiang. The spring frost in Northern Xinjiang mainly occurred in April, and that of Southern Xinjiang was in March. Obvious 15-, 10-, and 20-year oscillation cycles were observed in the occurrence frequency of spring frost in the entire, southern, and northern regions of Xinjiang, respectively. This study can provide a useful reference for the prediction and research corresponding to the occurrence mechanism of spring frost in arid areas.