Trends of temperature and precipitation extremes in the Loess Plateau Region of China, 1961–2010

Abstract

The spatial and temporal trends of 11 (7) temperature (precipitation) extreme indices are examined for the Loess Plateau Region (LPR) and its southeast and northwest sub-regions based on daily observations at 214 meteorological stations. Results show widespread significant warming trends for all the temperature extremes except for the diurnal temperature range (DTR) and the lowest daily maximum temperature in each year (TXn) during 1961–2010. When regionally averaged, a significant warming trend is detected for all the indices except for DTR and TXn in the past 50 years. Compared with the entire LPR, a significant warming trend is detected for all the indices except for DTR and TXn over the southeast sub-region of LPR; while it is observed for all the indices over the northwest. The trends for these indices are generally stronger in the northwest than in the southeast in the past 50 years. In contrast, for precipitation indices, only a small percentage of areas show significant drying or wetting trends and, when regionally averaged, none of them displays significant trends during the past 50 years. On the sub-regional scale, however, a larger percentage of areas show significant drying trends for precipitation indices generally over the southeast relative to the entire LPR, and noticeably, the sub-regional average heavy precipitation (R10mm) and wet day precipitation (PRCPTOT) display significant decreasing trends during the past 50 years; whereas only a slightly larger percentage of areas show significant wetting trends for these indices over the northwest compared with the entire LPR, and when sub-regionally averaged, none of the indices have significant trends during the past 50 years.