Wetting and greening Tibetan Plateau in early summer in recent decades

Abstract

AbstractThe Tibetan Plateau (TP) plays an essential role in the global hydrological cycle. Unlike the well‐recognized surface warming, changes in precipitation over the TP and the underlying mechanisms remain ambiguous. A significant increase in the amount of precipitation over the southeastern TP in May over 1979–2014 (13.46% decade−1 of the climatology) is identified in this study, based on homogenized daily rain gauge data. Both the increased precipitation frequency and intensity have contributions. The coherent increases in soil moisture content and vegetation activities further confirm the precipitation trend, indicating a wetting and greening TP in the early summer in recent decades. The moisture budget analysis shows that this wetting trend in the past four decades is dominated by the increased water vapor convergence due to circulation changes, while increases in specific humidity play a minor role. The wetting trend over the TP in May results directly from the earlier onset of the South Asian summer monsoon (ASM) since the late 1970s associated with the phase transition of Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation around the late 1990s. The earlier onset of the ASM triggers low‐level southwesterly anomalies over the northern Indian Ocean, promoting moisture convergence and increased precipitation over the TP in May. Specifically, the increased amount of precipitation after the onset of the ASM explains 95% of the increase in the total amount of precipitation in May.