Based on combined thresholds of daily maximum and minimum temperatures, a compound heat wave is defined, and then changes in multiple aspects of such heat waves in China are estimated between 1961 and 2015. Our result...Based on combined thresholds of daily maximum and minimum temperatures, a compound heat wave is defined, and then changes in multiple aspects of such heat waves in China are estimated between 1961 and 2015. Our results intriguingly indicate that severe compound heat waves in northern China are characterized by excessively high in- tensity within short duration, while long duration determines great disaster-causing potential of severe events in the south. In the past few decades, large areas of China have experienced longer, stronger, and more frequent compound heat waves. Northern China has witnessed dramatic intensity increases, with a maximum amplification over 5~C dec- ade-~; while remarkable lengthening in duration has been mostly recorded in the south, with a maximum trend over 1 day decade-1. The spatial extent affected by compound heat waves has significantly expanded since the 1960s, with the largest expanding rate over 6% decade-1 detected in North China and Northeast China. These systematic assess- ments serve to deepen our understanding of observed changes in compound heat waves across China, and may fur- ther shed some light on future adaptations and mitigations against an increasingly wanning climate.展开更多
基金Supported by the National Basic Research and Development(973)Program of China(2013CB430203 and 2012CB417205)China Meteorological Administration Special Public Welfare Research Fund(GYHY201306033)+2 种基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(41275073)Program of Science and Technology Development in Sichuan Meteorological Bureau(2014-09)Project for Postgraduate Scientific Research and Innovation of Jiangsu Province(KYLX16_0933)
文摘Based on combined thresholds of daily maximum and minimum temperatures, a compound heat wave is defined, and then changes in multiple aspects of such heat waves in China are estimated between 1961 and 2015. Our results intriguingly indicate that severe compound heat waves in northern China are characterized by excessively high in- tensity within short duration, while long duration determines great disaster-causing potential of severe events in the south. In the past few decades, large areas of China have experienced longer, stronger, and more frequent compound heat waves. Northern China has witnessed dramatic intensity increases, with a maximum amplification over 5~C dec- ade-~; while remarkable lengthening in duration has been mostly recorded in the south, with a maximum trend over 1 day decade-1. The spatial extent affected by compound heat waves has significantly expanded since the 1960s, with the largest expanding rate over 6% decade-1 detected in North China and Northeast China. These systematic assess- ments serve to deepen our understanding of observed changes in compound heat waves across China, and may fur- ther shed some light on future adaptations and mitigations against an increasingly wanning climate.
