Variations of compound precipitation and temperature extremes in China during 1961–2014

Abstract

Concurrent precipitation and temperature extremes usually have significant impacts on the society, economy and ecosystem. Changes in precipitation or temperature extremes in China have been extensively studied; however, less attention has been paid to their concurrence (or compound extremes) to date. This study explores the historical variations of compound extremes including dry/warm, dry/cold, wet/warm, and wet/cold combinations based on monthly precipitation and temperature observations during summer and winter from 1961 to 2014 over China. Results show that there is a significant increase in the frequency of compound dry/warm and wet/warm extremes while a decrease in compound dry/cold and wet/cold extremes for the period 1988–2014 relative to 1961–1987. In addition, statistically significant increase in the spatial extent exists in compound dry/warm and wet/warm extremes, while the areas affected by the compound dry/cold and wet/cold extremes present a decrease across China, which is shown to be partly related to the large-scale circulation patterns. The results of this study could improve our understanding of changes of compound precipitation and temperature extremes from a multivariate perspective.