Variations in Maximum and Minimum Temperature in Mount Qomolangma during 1971–2020

Abstract

Based on the daily maximum and minimum temperature observational data during 1971–2020, the variabilities of the maximum and minimum temperature of Mount Qomolangma are analyzed. The daily maximum temperature is 25.8 °C and the daily minimum temperature is −31.4 °C during the study period in Mount Qomolangma. Overall, there has been an upward trend with decadal laps for both maximum and minimum temperature. On monthly, seasonal, and annual scales, neither maximum temperature nor minimum temperature time series exhibit an increasing trend from 1971 to 2020. The increasing trends in monthly minimum temperature are even more pronounced than those in maximum temperature. Abrupt changes are noted in both monthly, seasonal, and annual maximum and minimum temperature time series. Specifically, an abrupt change in annual maximum temperature occurred in the 1980s, while an abrupt change in annual minimum temperature occurred in the 1990s. Differences between the north and south slope of Mount Qomolangma are evident, with temperature fluctuations of the north slope being more extreme than those of south slope. The seasonal and annual maximum temperature of the north slope is higher than that of the south slope, except for winter, and the seasonal and annual minimum temperatures of the north slope are all lower than those of the south slope. The tendences of maximum and minimum temperatures in the north slope are more dominant than those in the south slope. The findings are beneficial for understanding the characteristics of local climate change on the Tibetan plateau and to underscore the significant role of Mount Qomolangma in the context of global warming.