Evaluation and Projection of Population Exposure to Temperature Extremes over the Beijing−Tianjin−Hebei Region Using a High-Resolution Regional Climate Model RegCM4 Ensemble

Temperature extremes over rapidly urbanizing regions with high population densities have been scrutinized due to their severe impacts on human safety and economics.First of all,the performance of the regional climate model RegCM4 with a hydrostatic or non-hydrostatic dynamic core in simulating seasonal temperature and temperature extremes was evaluated over the historical period of 1991–99 at a 12-km spatial resolution over China and a 3-km resolution over the Beijing−Tianjin−Hebei(JJJ)region,a typical urban agglomeration of China.Simulations of spatial distributions of temperature extremes over the JJJ region using RegCM4 with hydrostatic and non-hydrostatic cores showed high spatial correlations of more than 0.8 with the observations.Under a warming climate,temperature extremes of annual maximum daily temperature(TXx)and summer days(SU)in China and the JJJ region showed obvious increases by the end of the 21st century while there was a general reduction in frost days(FD).The ensemble of RegCM4 with different land surface components was used to examine population exposure to temperature extremes over the JJJ region.Population exposure to temperature extremes was found to decrease in 2091−99 relative to 1991−99 over the majority of the JJJ region due to the joint impacts of increases in temperature extremes over the JJJ and population decreases over the JJJ region,except for downtown areas.Furthermore,changes in population exposure to temperature extremes were mainly dominated by future population changes.Finally,we quantified changes in exposure to temperature extremes with temperature increase over the JJJ region.This study helps to provide relevant policies to respond future climate risks over the JJJ region.

Recent Trends in Winter Temperature Extremes in Eastern China and their Relationship with the Arctic Oscillation and ENSO

Interannual variations in the number of winter extreme warm and cold days over eastern China （EC） and their relationship with the Arctic Oscillation （AO） and E1 Nifio-Southern Oscillation （ENSO） were investigated using an updated temperature dataset comprising 542 Chinese stations during the period 1961- 2011. Results showed that the number of winter extreme warm （cold） days across EC experienced a significant increase （decrease） around the mid-1980s, which could be attributed to interdecadal variation of the East Asian Winter Monsoon （EAWM）. Probability distribution functions （PDFs） of winter temperature extremes in different phases of the AO and ENSO were estimated based on Generalized Extreme Value Distribution theory. Correlation analysis and the PDF technique consistently demonstrated that interannual variation of winter extreme cold days in the northern part of EC （NEC） is closely linked to the AO, while it is most strongly related to the ENSO in the southern part （SEC）. However, the number of winter extreme warm days across EC has little correlation with both AO and ENSO. Furthermore, results indicated that, whether before or after the mid-1980s shift, a significant connection existed between winter extreme cold days in NEC and the AO. However, a significant connection between winter extreme cold days in SEC and the ENSO was only found after the mid-1980s shift. These results highlight the different roles of the AO and ENSO in influencing winter temperature extremes in different parts of EC and in different periods, thus providing important clues for improving short-term climate prediction for winter temperature extremes.

Abrupt Summer Warming and Changes in Temperature Extremes over Northeast Asia Since the Mid-1990s: Drivers and Physical Processes

This study investigated the drivers and physical processes for the abrupt decadal summer surface warming and increases in hot temperature extremes that occurred over Northeast Asia in the mid-1990s. Observations indicate an abrupt increase in summer mean surface air temperature （SAT） over Northeast Asia since the mid-1990s. Accompanying this abrupt surface wanning, significant changes in some temperature extremes, characterized by increases in summer mean daily maximum temperature （Tmax）, daily minimum temperature （Train）, annual hottest day temperature （TXx）, and annual warmest night temperature （TNx） were observed. There were also increases in the frequency of summer days （SU） and tropical nights （TR）. Atmospheric general circulation model experiments forced by changes in sea surface temperature （SST）/sea ice extent （SIE）, anthropogenic greenhouse gas （GHG） concentrations, and anthropogenic aerosol （AA） forcing, relative to the period 1964- 93, reproduced the general patterns of observed summer mean SAT changes and associated changes in temperature extremes, although the abrupt decrease in precipitation since the mid-1990s was not simulated. Additional model experiments with different forcings indicated that changes in SST/SIE explained 76% of the area-averaged summer mean surface warming signal over Northeast Asia, while the direct impact of changes in GHG and AA explained the remaining 24% of the surface warming signal. Analysis of physical processes indicated that the direct impact of the changes in AA （through aerosol- radiation and aerosol-cloud interactions）, mainly related to the reduction of AA precursor emissions over Europe, played a dominant role in the increase in TXx and a similarly important role as SST/SIE changes in the increase in the frequency of SU over Northeast Asia via AA-induced coupled atmosphere-land surface and cloud feedbacks, rather than through a direct impact of AA changes on cloud condensation nuclei. The modelling results also imply that the abrupt summer surface warming and increases in hot temperature extremes over Northeast Asia since the mid-1990s will probably sustain in the next few decades as GHG concentrations continue to increase and AA precursor emissions over both North America and Europe continue to decrease.

Changes in temperature extremes over China under 1.5 ℃ and 2 ℃ global warming targets

The long-term goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement is to limit global warming to well below 2 ℃above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 ℃. However, for climate mitigation and adaption efforts, further studies are still needed to understand the regional consequences between the two global warming limits. Here we provide an assessment of changes in temperature extremes over China （relative to 1986-2005） at 1.5 ℃ and 2 ℃ warming levels （relative to 1861-1900） by using the 5th phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project （CMIP5） models under three RCP scenarios （RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP8.5）. Results show that the increases in mean temperature and temperature extremes over China are greater than that in global mean temperature. With respect to 1986-2005, the temperature of hottest day （TXx） and coldest night （TNn） are projected to increase about 1/1.6 ℃ and 1.1/1.8 ℃, whereas warm days （TX90p） and warm spell duration （WSDI） will increase about 7.5/13.8% and 15/30 d for the 1.5/2 ℃ global warming target, respectively. Under an additional 0.5 ℃ global warming, the projected increases of temperature in warmest day/night and coldest day/night are both more than 0.5 ℃ across almost the whole China. In Northwest China, Northeast China and the Tibetan Plateau, the projected changes are particularly sensitive to the additional 0.5 ℃ global warming, for example, multi-model mean increase in coldest day （TXn） and coldest night （TNn） will be about 2 times higher than a change of 0.5 ℃ global warming. Although the area-averaged changes in temperature extremes are very similar for different scenarios, spatial hotspot still exists, such as in Northwest China and North China, the increases in temperatures are apparently larger in RCP8.5 than that in RCP4.5.

Assessment of Indices of Temperature Extremes Simulated by Multiple CMIP5 Models over China

Given that climate extremes in China might have serious regional and global consequences, an increasing number of studies are examining temperature extremes in China using the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 （CMIP5） models. This paper investigates recent changes in temperature extremes in China using 25 state-of-the-art global climate models participating in CMIP5. Thirteen indices that represent extreme temperature events were chosen and derived by daily maximum and minimum temperatures, including those representing the intensity （absolute indices and threshold indices）, duration （duration indices）, and frequency （percentile indices） of extreme temperature. The overall performance of each model is summarized by a ＂portrait＂ diagram based on relative root-mean-square error, which is the RMSE relative to the median RMSE of all models, revealing the multi-model ensemble simulation to be better than individual model for most indices. Compared with observations, the models are able to capture the main features of the spatial distribution of extreme temperature during 1986-2005. Overall, the CMIP5 models are able to depict the observed indices well, and the spatial structure of the ensemble result is better for threshold indices than frequency indices. The spread amongst the CMIP5 models in different subregions for intensity indices is small and the median CMIP5 is close to observations; however, for the duration and frequency indices there can be wide disagreement regarding the change between models and observations in some regions. The model ensemble also performs well in reproducing the observational trend of temperature extremes. All absolute indices increase over China during 1961-2005.

Trends of Temperature Extremes in China and their Relationship with Global Temperature Anomalies

Changes of temperature extremes over China were evaluated using daily maximum and minimum temperature data from 591 stations for the period 1961-2002. A set of indices of warm extremes, cold extremes and daily temperature range （DTR） extremes was studied with a focus on trends. The results showed that the frequency of warm extremes （F WE） increased obviously in most parts of China, and the intensity of warm extremes （I WE） increased significantly in northern China. The opposite distribution was found in the frequency and intensity of cold extremes. The frequency of high DTR extremes was relatively uniform with that of intensity： an obvious increasing trend was located over western China and the east coast, while significant decreases occurred in central, southeastern and northeastern China; the opposite distribution was found for low DTR extreme days. Seasonal trends illustrated that both F WE and I WE showed signifi- cant increasing trends, especially over northeastern China and along the Yangtze Valley basin in spring and winter. A correlation technique was used to link extreme temperature anomalies over China with global temperature anomalies. Three key regions were identified, as follows： northeastern China and its coastal areas, the high-latitude regions above 40~0N, and southwestern China and the equatorial eastern Pacific.

The Impact of Indian Ocean Variability on High Temperature Extremes across the Southern Yangtze River Valley in Late Summer

In this study, the teleconnection between Indian Ocean sea surface temperature anomalies （SSTAs） and the frequency of high temperature extremes （HTEs） across the southern Yangtze River valley （YRV） was investigated. The results indicate that the frequency of HTEs across the southern YRV in August is remotely influenced by the Indian Ocean basin mode （IOBM） SSTAs. Corresponding to June-July-August （JJA） IOBM warming condition, the number of HTEs was above normal, and corresponding to IOBM cooling conditions, the number of HTEs was below normal across the southern YRV in August. The results of this study indicate that the tropical IOBM warming triggered low-level anomalous anticyclonic circulation in the subtropical northwestern Pacific Ocean and southern China by emanating a warm Kelvin wave in August. In the southern YRV, the reduced rainfall and downward vertical motion associated with the anomalous low-level anticyclonic circulation led to the increase of HTE frequency in August.

Statistical Downscaling of Summer Temperature Extremes in Northern China

Two approaches of statistical downscaling were applied to indices of temperature extremes based on percentiles of daily maximum and minimum temperature observations at Beijing station in summer during 1960-2008. One was to downscale daily maximum and minimum temperatures by using EOF analysis and stepwise linear regression at first, then to calculate the indices of extremes; the other was to directly downseale the percentile-based indices by using seasonal large-scale temperature and geo-potential height records. The cross-validation results showed that the latter approach has a better performance than the former. Then, the latter approach was applied to 48 meteorological stations in northern China. The cross- validation results for all 48 stations showed close correlation between the percentile-based indices and the seasonal large-scale variables. Finally, future scenarios of indices of temperature extremes in northern China were projected by applying the statistical downsealing to Hadley Centre Coupled Model Version 3 （HadCM3） simulations under the Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 （RCP 4.5） scenario of the Fifth Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project （CMIP5）. The results showed that the 90th percentile of daily maximum temperatures will increase by about 1.5℃, and the 10th of daily minimum temperatures will increase by about 2℃ during the period 2011- 35 relative to 1980-99.

Evaluation and Projection of Temperature Extremes over China Based on CMIP5 Model

Evaluation and projection of temperature extremes over China are carried out with 8 model datasets from CMIF5. Compared with the NCEP reanalysis data, multi-model weighted ensemble is capable of reproducing the 8 temperature extreme indices and 20-yeax return values of annual maximum/minimum temperatures. The time correlation coefficients of all the 8 indices between multi-model ensemble and the reanalysis can reach a significance level of 0.10. The spatial correlation coefficient of 20-year return level of annual maximum/minimum temperatures is greater than 0.98. Under the RCP4.5 scenario, more extreme warm events and less cold events are expected over China in multi-model ensemble. By the middle of the 21st century, the heat wave duration index will be multiplied 2.6 times. At the end of the 21st century, the cold wave duration index will decrease 71%, and the 20-year return value will increase 4℃ in parts of China for the maximum/minimum temperatures.

Climatology and Trends of High Temperature Extremes across China in Summer

Based on the daily maximum air temperature data from 300 stations in China from 1958 to 2008, the climatological distribution of the number of days with high temperature extremes （HTEs, maximum temperatures higher than 35℃） are studied with a focus on the long-term trends. Although the number of HTE days display well-defined sandwich spatial structures with significant decreasing trends in central China and increasing trends in northern China and southern China, the authors show that the decrease of HTE days in central China occurs mainly in the early period before the 1980s, and a significant increase of HTE days dominates most of the stations after the 1980s. The authors also reveal that there is a jump-like acceleration in the number of HTE days at most stations across China since the mid 1990s, especially in South China, East China, North China, and northwest China.

Trends of Temperature Extremes in Summer and Winter during 1971–2013 in China

The diurnal temperature range(DTR) has decreased dramatically in recent decades, but it is not yet obvious whether the extreme values of DTR have also reduced. Based on the daily maximum and minimum temperature data of 653 stations in China, a set of monthly indices of warm extremes, cold extremes, and DTR extremes in summer(June, July, August) and winter(December, January, February) were studied for spatial and temporal features during the period 1971–2013. Results show that the incidence of warm extremes has been increasing in most parts of China, while the opposite trend was found in the cold extremes for summer and winter months. Both increasing and decreasing trends of monthly DTR extremes were identified in China for both seasons. For high DTR extremes, decreasing trends were identified in northern China for both seasons, but increasing trends were found only in southern China in summer, while in winter, they were found in central China. Monthly low DTR extreme indices demonstrated consistent positive trends in summer and winter, while significant increases(P < 0.05) were identified for only a few stations.

Projections of temperature extremes based on preferred CMIP5 models:a case study in the Kaidu-Kongqi River basin in Northwest China

The extreme temperature has more outstanding impact on ecology and water resources in arid regions than the average temperature.Using the downscaled daily temperature data from 21 Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project(CMIP)models of NASA Earth Exchange Global Daily Downscaled Projections(NEX-GDDP)and the observation data,this paper analyzed the changes in temporal and spatiotemporal variation of temperature extremes,i.e.,the maximum temperature(Tmax)and minimum temperature(Tmin),in the Kaidu-Kongqi River basin in Northwest China over the period 2020–2050 based on the evaluation of preferred Multi-Model Ensemble(MME).Results showed that the Partial Least Square ensemble mean participated by Preferred Models(PM-PLS)was better representing the temporal change and spatial distribution of temperature extremes during 1961–2005 and was chosen to project the future change.In 2020–2050,the increasing rate of Tmax(Tmin)under RCP(Representative Concentration Pathway)8.5 will be 2.0(1.6)times that under RCP4.5,and that of Tmin will be larger than that of Tmax under each corresponding RCP.Tmin will keep contributing more to global warming than Tmax.The spatial distribution characteristics of Tmax and Tmin under the two RCPs will overall the same;but compared to the baseline period(1986–2005),the increments of Tmax and Tmin in plain area will be larger than those in mountainous area.With the emission concentration increased,however,the response of Tmax in mountainous area will be more sensitive than that in plain area,and that of Tmin will be equivalently sensitive in mountainous area and plain area.The impacts induced by Tmin will be universal and farreaching.Results of spatiotemporal variation of temperature extremes indicate that large increases in the magnitude of warming in the basin may occur in the future.The projections can provide the scientific basis for water and land plan management and disaster prevention and mitigation in the inland river basin.

Comparison of temperature extremes between Zhongshan Station and Great Wall Station in Antarctica

Although temperature extremes have led to more and more disasters, there are as yet few studies on the extremes and many disagreements on temperature changes in Antarctica. Based on daily minimum, maximum, and mean air temperatures(Tmin, Tmax, Tmean) at Great Wall Station(GW) and Zhongshan Station(ZS), we compared the temperature extremes and revealed a strong warming trend in Tmin, a slight warming trend in Tmean, cooling in Tmax, a decreasing trend in the daily temperature range, and the typical characteristic of coreless winter temperature. There are different seasonal variabilities, with the least in summer. The continentality index and seasonality show that the marine air mass has more effect on GW than ZS. Following the terminology of the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC AR5), we defined nine indices of temperature extremes, based on the Antarctic geographical environment. Extreme-warm days have decreased, while extreme-warm nights have shown a nonsignificant trend. The number of melting days has increased at GW, while little change at ZS. More importantly, we have found inverse variations in temperature patterns between the two stations, which need further investigation into the dynamics of climate change in Antarctica.

Investigation of Arctic air temperature extremes at north of 60°N in winter

Air temperature is a key index reflecting climate change. Air temperature extremes are very important because they strongly influence the natural environment and societal activities. The Arctic air temperature extremes north of 60°N are investigated in the winter. Daily data from 238 stations at north of 60°N from the global summary of the day for the period 1979–2015 are used to study the trends of cold days, cold nights, warm days and warm nights during the wintertime. The results show a decreasing trend of cold days and nights（rate of –0.2 to –0.3 d/a） and an increasing trend of warm days and nights（rate of ＋0.2 to ＋0.3 d/a） in the Arctic. The mean temperature increases,which contributes to the increasing（decreasing） occurrence of warm（cold） days and nights. On the other hand,the variance at most stations decreased, leading to a reduced number of cold events. A positive AO（Arctic Oscillation） index leads to an increased（decreased） number of warm（cold） days and nights over northern Europe and western Russia and an increased（decreased） number of cold（warm） days and nights over the Bering Strait and Greenland. The lower extent of Arctic autumn sea ice leads to a decreased number of cold days and nights.The occurrences of abrupt changes are detected using the Mann-Kendall method for cold nights occurring in Canada in 1998 and for warm nights occurring in northwestern Eurasia in 1988. This abrupt change mainly resulted from the mean warming induced by south winds and an increased North Atlantic sea surface temperature.

Quantile Trends in Temperature Extremes in China

A number of recent studies have examined trends in extreme temperature indices using a linear regression model based on ordinary least-squares. In this study, quantile regression was, for the first time, applied to examine the trends not only in the mean but also in all parts of the distribution of several extreme temperature indices in China for the period 1960–2008. For China as a whole, the slopes in almost all the quantiles of the distribution showed a notable increase in the numbers of warm days and warm nights, and a significant decrease in the number of cool nights. These changes became much faster as the quantile increased. However, although the number of cool days exhibited a significant decrease in the mean trend estimated by classical linear regression, there was no obvious trend in the upper and lower quantiles. This finding suggests that examining the trends in different parts of the distribution of the time-series is of great importance. The spatial distribution of the trend in the 90 th quantile indicated that there was a pronounced increase in the numbers of warm days and warm nights, and a decrease in the number of cool nights for most of China, but especially in the northern and western parts of China, while there was no significant change for the number of cool days at almost all the stations.

Multi-scenario-based hazard analysis of high temperature extremes experienced in China during 1951-2010

China is physically and socio-economically susceptible to global warming-derived high temperature extremes because of its vast area and high urban population density. This article presents a scenario-based analysis method for high temperature extremes aimed at illustrating the latter＇s hazardous potential and exposure across China. Based on probability analysis, high temperature extreme scenarios with return periods of 5, 10, 20, and 50 years were designed, with a high temperature hazard index calculated by integrating two differen- tially-weighted extreme temperature indices （maximum temperature and high temperature days）. To perform the exposure analysis, a land use map was employed to determine the spatial distribution of susceptible human activities under the different scenarios. The results indicate that there are two heat-prone regions and a sub-hotspot occupying a relatively small land area. However, the societal and economic consequences of such an environmental im- pact upon the North China Plain and middle/lower Yangtze River Basin would be substantial due to the concentration of human activities in these areas.

Changes in temperature extremes in the Yangtze River Basin, 1962-2011

Based on daily maximum and minimum temperature observed by the China Mete- orological Administration at 115 meteorological stations in the Yangtze River Basin from 1962 to 2011, the methods of linear regression, principal component analysis and correlation analysis are employed to investigate the temporal variability and spatial distribution of tem- perature extremes. Sixteen indices of extreme temperature are selected. The results are as follows： （1） The occurrence of cold days, cold nights, ice days, frost days and cold spell du- ration indicator has significantly decreased by -0.84, -2.78, -0.48, -3.29 and -0.67 days per decade, respectively. While the occurrence of warm days, warm nights, summer days, tropi- cal nights, warm spell duration indicator and growing season length shows statistically sig- nificant increasing trends at rates of 2.24, 2.86, 2.93, 1.80, 0.83 and 2.30 days per decade, respectively. The tendency rate of the coldest day, coldest night, warmest day, warmest night and diurnal temperature range is 0.33, 0.47, 0.16, 0.19 and -0.07~C per decade, respectively （2） The magnitudes of changes in cold indices （cold nights, coldest day and coldest night） are obviously greater than those of warm indices （warm nights, warmest day and warmest night）. The change ranges of night indices （warm nights and cold nights） are larger than those of day indices （warm days and cold days）, which indicates that the change of day and night tem- perature is asymmetrical. （3） Spatially, the regionally averaged values of cold indices in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River Basin are larger than those in the middle and lower reaches. However, the regionally averaged values of most warm indices （except warm spell duration indicator） and growing season length in the middle and lower reaches are larger than those in the upper reaches. （4） The extreme temperature indices are well correlated with each other except diurnal temperature range.

Effects of urbanization on daily temperature extremes in North China

The regional changes of daily temperature extremes in North China caused by ur- banization are studied further from observed facts and model estimates on the basis of ho- mogenized daily series of maximum and minimum temperature observations from 268 mete- orological stations, NCEP/DOE AMIP- Ⅱ reanalysis data （R-2）, and the data of simulations by regional climate model （RegCM3）. The observed facts of regional warming on long time scales are obtained by analyzing the indices of temperature extremes during two time periods of 1961-2010 and 1951-2010. For urbanization effect, the contributions to decreases in an- nual and winter diurnal temperature range （DTR） are 56.0% and 52.9%, respectively, and increases in the lowest minimum temperature （TNn） are 35.7% and 26.2% by comparison of urban and rural observations. Obtained by R-2 data with observations for contrast, on the other hand, increase in the number of annual warm nights （TN90p） contributed by urbaniza- tion is 60.9%. And observed facts of regional warming in daily temperature extremes are also reflected in the simulations, but what difference is urbanization progress at rural areas in North China would be prominent in the next few years relative to urban areas to some extent from model estimates.

Risks of temperature extremes over China under 1.5℃ and 2℃ global warming

The Paris Agreement aims to keep global warming to well below 2℃ above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5℃,recognizing this will reduce the risks of natural disasters significantly.As changes in the risks of temperature extremes are often associated with changes in the temperature probability distribution,further analysis is still needed to improve understanding of the warm extremes over China.In this study,changes in the occurrence probability of temperature extremes and statistic characteristics of the temperature distribution are investigated using the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project(CMIP5)multimodel simulations from 1861 to 2100.The risks of the once-in-100-year TXx and TNx events are projected to increase by 14.4 and 31.4 times at 1.5℃ warming.Even,the corresponding risks under 2℃ global warming are 23.3 and 50.6,implying that the once-in-100-year TXx and TNx events are expected to occur about every 5 and 2 years over China,respectively.The Tibetan Plateau,Northwest China and south of the Yangtze River are in greater risks suffering hot extremes(both day and night extremes).Changes in the occurrence probability of warm extremes are generally well explained by the combination of the shifts in location and scale parameters in areas with grown variability,i.e.,the Tibetan Plateau for TXx,south of the Yangtze River for both TXx and TNx.The location(scale)parameter leading the risks of once-in-20-year TXx to increase by more than 5(0.25)and 3(0.75)times under 2℃ warming in the Tibetan Plateau and south of the Yangtze River,respectively.The location parameter is more important for regions with decreased variability e.g.,the Tibetan Plateau for TNx,Northwest China for both TXx and TNx,with risks increase by more than 3,6 and 4 times due to changes in location.

Changing Trends of Daily Temperature Extremes with Different Intensities in China

By comparing two sets of quality-controlled daily temperature observation data with and without the inhomogeneity test and adjustment from 654 stations in China during 1956 2004 and 1956-2010, impacts of inhomogeneity on changing trends of four percentile temperature extreme indices, including occurrences of cold days, cold nights, warm days, and warm nights with varying intensities, were discussed. It is found that the inhomogeneity affected the long-term trends averaged over extensive regions limitedly. In order to minimize the inhomogeneity impact, the 83 stations identified with obvious inhomogeneity impacts were removed, and an updated analysis of changing trends of the four temperature extreme indices with varying intensities during 1956 2010 was conducted. The results show that annual occurrences of both cold nights and cold days decreased greatly while those of warm nights and warm days increased significantly during the recent 20 years. The more extreme the event is, the greater the magnitude of changing trends for the temperature extreme index is. An obvious increasing trend was observed in annual occurrences of cold days and cold nights in the recent four years. The magnitude of changing trends of warm extreme indices was greater than that of cold extreme indices, and it was greater in northern China than in southern China. Trends for summer occurrence of cold days were not significant. Decreasing trends of occurrences of both cold nights and cold days were the greatest in December, January, and February （DJF） but the least in June, July, and August （JJA）, while increasing trends of warm nights were the greatest in JJA. Cold nights significantly decreased from 1956 to 1990, and then the decreasing trend considerably weakened. The decreasing trend also showed an obvious slowdown in recent years for occurrence of cold days. However, increasing trends of warm nights and warm days both have been accelerated continuously since the recent decades. Further analysis presents that the evolution of the trends for occurrences of the four temperature extreme indices was dominated by the changes in northern China .