Multistage spatiotemporal variability of temperature extremes over South China from 1961 to 2018

• Published in: Theoretical and applied climatology 2021-10, Vol.146 (1-2), p.243-256
• Main Authors: Wang, Leidi, Hu, Fei, Hu, Jing, Chen, Chen, Liu, Xian, Zhang, Dingling, Chen, Tingting, Miao, Yuchen, Zhang, Lei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Air temperature; Analysis; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric oscillations; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Atmospheric Sciences; Climate science; Climatology; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Growing season; Hydrologic cycle; Hydrological cycle; Hydrology; Maximum temperatures; Mean temperatures; Meteorological research; Minimum temperatures; Original Paper; Oscillations; Rice; Summer; Surface temperature; Surface-air temperature relationships; Temperature extremes; Temperature index; Tropical climate; Variability; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Weather; Weather stations
• ISSN: 0177-798X; 1434-4483
• DOI: 10.1007/s00704-021-03728-4

The variability of air temperature extremes exerts a great influence on agricultural production and the global hydrologic cycle. It has been the focus of attention for the past several decades. Using observed surface air temperature from 192 meteorological stations in South China maintained by the China Meteorological Administration, this study computed and analyzed 10 extreme temperature indices and the mean temperature at multiple spatiotemporal scales for the period from 1961 to 2018. These indices were analyzed with particular reference to the growing season of rice. Results showed that the variation trends of all annual indices exhibited different north–south patterns across decades, and the most recent 20-year period experienced greater warming than previous periods. The regional averaged rates of the annual mean maximum temperature, the annual mean minimum temperature, summer days, and tropical nights were 0.163 °C decade −1 , 0.197 °C decade −1 , 1.2 days decade −1 , and 5.4 days decade −1 , respectively. Except for the month of April, the southern region mostly experienced stronger warming than the northern region, especially in summer and autumn. Nighttime warming was usually greater than daytime warming, especially in June and October. Most temperature indices showed very weak correlations with large-scale atmospheric oscillations.