The 2022 Extreme Heatwave in Shanghai,Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River Valley:Combined Influences of Multiscale Variabilities

In the summer of 2022,China(especially the Yangtze River Valley,YRV)suffered its strongest heatwave(HW)event since 1961.In this study,we examined the influences of multiscale variabilities on the 2022 extreme HW in the lower reaches of the YRV,focusing on the city of Shanghai.We found that about 1/3 of the 2022 HW days in Shanghai can be attributed to the long-term warming trend of global warming.During mid-summer of 2022,an enhanced western Pacific subtropical high(WPSH)and anomalous double blockings over the Ural Mountains and Sea of Okhotsk,respectively,were associated with the persistently anomalous high pressure over the YRV,leading to the extreme HW.The Pacific Decadal Oscillation played a major role in the anomalous blocking pattern associated with the HW at the decadal time scale.Also,the positive phase of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation may have contributed to regulating the formation of the double-blocking pattern.Anomalous warming of both the warm pool of the western Pacific and tropical North Atlantic at the interannual time scale may also have favored the persistency of the double blocking and the anomalously strong WPSH.At the subseasonal time scale,the anomalously frequent phases 2-5 of the canonical northward propagating variability of boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation associated with the anomalous propagation of a weak Madden-Julian Oscillation suppressed the convection over the YRV and also contributed to the HW.Therefore,the 2022 extreme HW originated from multiscale forcing including both the climate warming trend and air-sea interaction at multiple time scales.

The Long-term Variation of Extreme Heavy Precipitation and Its Link to Urbanization Effects in Shanghai during 1916–2014

Using the hourly precipitation records of meteorological stations in Shanghai, covering a period of almost a century （1916-2014）, the long-term variation of extreme heavy precipitation in Shanghai on multiple spatial and temporal scales is analyzed, and the effects of urbanization on hourly rainstorms studied. Results show that： （1） Over the last century, extreme hourly precipitation events enhanced significantly. During the recent urbanization period from 1981 to 2014, the frequency of heavy precipitation increased significantly, with a distinct localized and abrupt characteristic. （2） The spatial distribution of long-term trends for the occurrence frequency and total precipitation intensity of hourly heavy precipitation in Shanghai shows a distinct urban rain-island feature; namely, heavy precipitation was increasingly focused in urban and suburban areas. Attribution analysis shows that urbanization in Shanghai contributed greatly to the increase in both frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall events in the city, thus leading to an increasing total precipitation amount of heavy rainfall events. In addition, the diurnal variation of rainfall intensity also shows distinctive urban-rural differences, especially during late afternoon and early nighttime in the city area. （3） Regional warming, with subsequent enhancement of water vapor content, convergence of moisture flux and atmospheric instability, provided favorable physical backgrounds for the formation of extreme precipitation. This accounts for the consistent increase in hourly heavy precipitation over the whole Shanghai area during recent times.

STUDY OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN URBANIZATION SPEED AND CHANGE IN SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF RAINFALL OVER SHANGHAI

Using daily rainfall data of 11 observatory stations over Shanghai for the period 1960-2007,the spatial differences of rainfall over the Shanghai region during periods with slow and rapid urbanization respectively are investigated based on spatial standard deviation of rainfall and its relative variables.Results show that spatial differences increase with the acceleration of urbanization.Spatial distributions of annual rainfall and rainstorm frequency exhibit distinct urban 'rain-island' features during the rapid period of urbanization(1960-1983) while it is opposite in the case of slow urbanization(1984-2007).Changes in the spatial distribution of annual rainfall trends also take place during different periods.Specifically,the variation of annual rainfall exhibits consistent trends over the Shanghai region in the slow urbanization periods.However,inconsistent spatial distribution of variations has taken place over the central districts and suburbs of Shanghai during the rapid urbanization stage.Since the speeding-up of urbanization,the annual rainfall amount over central districts of Shanghai tends to increase while that in the suburbs shows a decreasing trend.In addition,as far as different seasons are concerned,the speed of urbanization exerts insignificant influences on the spatial distribution of rainfall during winter and spring.On the contrary,the rainfall during summer and autumn(especially summer) is featured with an island effect during the rapid urbanization period.

Observed Climate Change in East China during 1961-2007

By using in situ daily observations in East China during 1961-2007 and NCEP reanalysis data, the methods of statistical analyses, urban minus rural and observation minus reanalysis, it is revealed that the observed climate change and surface warming in East China were mainly induced by urbanization. The results show that East China has experienced two warmer periods of 1930s and 1980s in the past century; from 1951 to 2007, the regional mean temperature increased at a rate of 0.14℃ per decade; heat waves happened in urban center more frequently, and local climate showed a warming and dry trend; there was no significant linear trend in regional mean precipitation in the past 50 years. Urbanization was a crucial element for the regional warming; about 44% of the warming was due to heat island effect in the mega city.

The “Ocean Stabilization Machine” May Represent a Primary Factor Underlying the Effect of “Global Warming on Climate Change”

Contemporary references to global warming pertain to the dramatic increase in monthly global land surface temperature (GLST) anomalies since 1976. In this paper, we argue that recent global warming is primarily a result of natural causes;we have established three steps that support this viewpoint. The first is to identify periodic functions that perfectly match all of the monthly anomaly data for GLST;the second is to identify monthly sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies that are located within different ocean basin domains and highly correlated with the monthly GLST anomalies;and the third is to determine whether the dramatically increasing (or dramatically decreasing) K-line diagram signals that coincide with GLST anomalies occurred in El Ni&#241o years (or La Ni&#241a years). We have identified 15,295 periodic functions that perfectly fit the monthly GLST anomalies from 1880 to 2013 and show that the monthly SST anomalies in six domains in different oceans are highly correlated with the monthly GLST anomalies. In addition, most of the annual dramatically increasing GLST anomalies occur in El Ni&#241o years;and most of the annual dramatically decreasing GLST anomalies occur in La Ni&#241a years. These findings indicate that the “ocean stabilization machine” might represent a primary factor underlying the effect of “global warming on climate change”.

ON TEMPERATURE CHANGES OF SHANGHAI AND URBANIZATION IMPACTS

To understand how temperature varies in urban Shanghai under the background of global climate change and how it is affected by urbanization, the Shanghai temperature responses to global warming were analyzed, and then the temperature trends of urban and suburb stations under different climatic backgrounds were obtained. The urbanization effects on temperature were studied by comparing urban stations to suburb stations, the relationship between urbanization variables and temperature components were obtained, and observation data of surface and high level were combined to assess the contribution of urbanization effect. In the last part of the paper, the cause of urbanization effects on temperature was discussed. The results indicated: The long term change trend of Shanghai annual mean temperature is 1.31/100a from 1873 to 2004, the periods of 1921 – 1948 and 1979 – 2004 are warmer, and the 1979 – 2004 period is the warmest; compared to suburb stations, the representative urban station has slower decreases in the cool period and faster increases in the warm one; the urban and suburb temperatures have distinct differences resulting from urbanization and the differences are increasing by the year, with the difference of mean temperature and minimum temperature being the greatest in fall and that of maximum temperature being the largest in summer between the urban and suburban areas. The urbanization process accelerates the warming speed, with the minimum temperature being the most obvious; the urbanization effect contributes a 0.4°C increase in 1980s and 1.1°C in 1990s to the annual mean temperature.

Temporal and spatial response of vegetation NDVI to temperature and precipitation in eastern China

Temporal and spatial response characteristics of vegetation NDVI to the variation of temperature and precipitation in the whole year, spring, summer and autumn was analyzed from April 1998 to March 2008 based on the SPOT VGT-NDVI data and daily temperature and precipitation data from 205 meteorological stations in eastern China. The results indicate that as a whole, the response of vegetation NDVI to the variation of temperature is more pronounced than that of precipitation in eastern China. Vegetation NDVI maximally responds to the variation of temperature with a lag of about 10 days, and it maximally responds to the variation of precipitation with a lag of about 30 days. The response of vegetation NDVI to temperature and precipitation is most pronounced in autumn, and has the longest lag in summer. Spatially, the maximum response of vegetation NDVI to the variation of temperature is more pronounced in the northern and middle parts than in the southern part of eastern China. The maximum response of vegetation NDVI to the variation of precipitation is more pronounced in the northern part than in the middle and southern parts of eastern China. The response of vegetation NDVI to the variation of temperature has longer lag in the northern and southern parts than in the middle part of eastern China. The response of vegetation NDVl to the variation of precipitation has the longest lag in the southern part, and the shortest lag in the northern part of eastern China. The response of vegetation NDVI to the variation of temperature and precipitation in eastern China is mainly consistent with other results, but the lag time of vegetation NDVI to the variation of temperature and precipitation has some differences with those results of the monsoon region of eastern China.

On the Two Successive Supercold Waves Straddling the End of 2020 and the Beginning of 2021

Two supercold waves straddling 2020 and 2021 successively hit China and caused record-breaking extremely low temperatures.In this study,the distinct features of these two supercold waves are analyzed on the medium-range time scale.The blocking pattern from the Kara Sea to Lake Baikal characterized the first cold wave,while the large-scale tilted ridge and trough over the Asian continent featured the second cold wave.Prior to the cold waves,both the northwest and hyperpolar paths of cold air contributed to a zonally extensive cold air accumulation in the key region of Siberia.This might be the primary reason why strong and extensive supercold waves occur even under the Arctic amplification background.The two cold waves straddling 2020 and 2021 exhibited distinct features:(1)the blocking circulation occurred to the north or the east of the Ural Mountains and was not confined only to the Ural Mountains as it was for the earlier cold waves;(2)the collocation of the Asian blocking pattern and the polar vortex deflection towards East Asia preferred the hyperpolar path of cold air accumulation and the subsequent southward outburst;and(3)both high-and low-frequency processes worked in concert,leading to the very intense cold waves.The cold air advance along the northwest path,which coincides with the southeastward intrusion of the Siberian High(SH)front edge,is associated with the high-frequency process,while the cold air movement along the hyperpolar path,which is close to the eastern edge of the SH,is controlled by the low-frequency process.

Climatic characteristics of high temperature in East China during 1961-2005

Based on the daily maximum temperature data covering the period 1961-2005, temporal and spatial characteristics and their changing in mean annual and monthly high temperature days（HTDs）and the mean daily maximum temperature（MDMT）during annual and monthly HTDs in East China were studied.The results show that the mean annual HTDs were 15.1 and the MDMT during annual HTDs was 36.3℃in the past 45 years.Both the mean annual HTDs and the MDMT during annual HTDs were negative anomaly in the1980s and positive anomaly in the other periods of time,oscillating with a cycle of about 12-15 years.The mean annual HTDs were more in the southern part,but less in the northern part of East China.The MDMT during annual HTDs was higher in Zhejiang,Anhui and Jiangxi provinces in the central and western parts of East China.The high temperature process（HTP） was more in the southwestern part,but less in northeastern part of East China.Both the HTDs and the numbers of HTP were at most in July,and the MDMT during monthly HTDs was also the highest in July.In the first 5 years of the 21st century,the mean annual HTDs and the MDMT during annual HTDs increased at most of the stations,both the mean monthly HTDs and the MDMT during monthly HTDs were positive anomalies from April to October,the number of each type of HTP generally was at most and the MDMT in each type of HTP was also the highest.

CHARACTERISTICS AND TRENDS OF CLIMATIC EXTREMES IN CHINA DURING 1959-2014

The spatial and temporal variations of daily maximum temperature(Tmax), daily minimum temperature(Tmin), daily maximum precipitation(Pmax) and daily maximum wind speed(WSmax) were examined in China using Mann-Kendall test and linear regression method. The results indicated that for China as a whole, Tmax, Tmin and Pmax had significant increasing trends at rates of 0.15℃ per decade, 0.45℃ per decade and 0.58 mm per decade,respectively, while WSmax had decreased significantly at 1.18 m·s^(-1) per decade during 1959—2014. In all regions of China, Tmin increased and WSmax decreased significantly. Spatially, Tmax increased significantly at most of the stations in South China(SC), northwestern North China(NC), northeastern Northeast China(NEC), eastern Northwest China(NWC) and eastern Southwest China(SWC), and the increasing trends were significant in NC, SC, NWC and SWC on the regional average. Tmin increased significantly at most of the stations in China, with notable increase in NEC, northern and southeastern NC and northwestern and eastern NWC. Pmax showed no significant trend at most of the stations in China, and on the regional average it decreased significantly in NC but increased in SC, NWC and the mid-lower Yangtze River valley(YR). WSmax decreased significantly at the vast majority of stations in China, with remarkable decrease in northern NC, northern and central YR, central and southern SC and in parts of central NEC and western NWC. With global climate change and rapidly economic development, China has become more vulnerable to climatic extremes and meteorological disasters, so more strategies of mitigation and/or adaptation of climatic extremes,such as environmentally-friendly and low-cost energy production systems and the enhancement of engineering defense measures are necessary for government and social publics.

Maintenance and development of the Ural high and its contribution to severe cold wave activities in winter 2020/21

Two successive severe cold waves invaded eastern China from the end of 2020 to early 2021,leading to an extensive,severe,and persistent drop in temperature.The paper investigates the features and formation mechanisms of the two cold waves.The main results are as follows:(1)An anticlockwise turning of the transverse trough was observed in both cold waves.However,a broad ridge was maintained over the Ural area from mid-December 2020 till mid-January 2021.No breakdown or discontinuous westward shift of the blocking high was observed,which is different from typical cold waves in eastern Asia.(2)The maintenance and strengthening of northerly winds in front of the Ural high led to an increase in baroclinicity in-situ.In the downstream region,the gradient of the geopotential height contour in the south of the transverse trough rapidly increased and the advection of cold temperature consistently enhanced and advanced southwards.This in turn caused the intensification and southward expansion of the Siberian high.(3)Energy propagation of the quasi-stationary wave was a reason for the development and persistence of the Ural blocking.Prior to the occurrence of the two cold waves,the energy of the low-frequency stationary wave originating from near 0°E(or even to the west)propagated eastwards,which helped the Ural ridge intensify and maintain.Meanwhile,it also contributed to the development of the trough downstream of the ridge and resulted in the anticlockwise turning of the transverse trough,providing a favorable condition for the southward outbreak of cold air.

AN EAST ASIAN SUBTROPICAL SUMMER MONSOON INDEX DEFINED BY MOISTURE TRANSPORT

Using daily NCEP/NCAR reanalysis dataset and observation rainfall data in China for the 1971-2000 period, a subtropical summer monsoon index has been defined by meridional moisture transport of the total atmosphere column. Results show that the subtropical summer monsoon index defined by the difference of meridional moisture transport between South China and North China can be used to describe the intensity of the subtropical summer monsoon. High (low) index is corresponding to strong (weak) subtropical summer monsoon. And the new index is well related to the summer rainfall over the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River. In addition, the convergence of moisture transport from the west Pacific via the South China Sea and that from the North China may be responsible for the anomalously excessive summer rainfall over the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River.

Variations of the thermal growing season during the period 1961–2015 in northern China

Researching into changes in thermal growing season has been one of the most important scientific issues in studies of the impact of global climate change on terrestrial ecosystems. However, few studies investigated the differences under various definitions of thermal growing season and compared the trends of thermal growing season in different parts of China. Based on the daily mean air temperatures collected from 877 meteorological stations over northern China from 1961 to 2015, we investigated the variations of the thermal growing season parameters including the onset, ending and duration of the growing season using the methods of differential analysis, trend analysis, comparative analysis, and Kriging interpolation technique. Results indicate that the differences of the maximum values of those indices for the thermal growing season were significant, while they were insignificant for the mean values. For indices with the same length of the spells exceeding 5°C, frost criterion had a significant effect on the differences of the maximum values. The differences of the mean values between frost and non-frost indices were also slight, even smaller than those from the different lengths of the spells. Temporally, the starting date of the thermal growing season advanced by 10.0–11.0 days, while the ending dates delayed by 5.0–6.0 days during the period 1961–2015. Consequently, the duration of the thermal growing season was prolonged 15.0–16.0 days. Spatially, the advanced onset of the thermal growing season occurred in the southwestern, eastern, and northeastern parts of northern China, whereas the delayed ending of the thermal growing season appeared in the western part, and the length of the thermal growing season was prolonged significantly in the vast majority of northern China. The trend values of the thermal growing season were affected by altitude. The magnitude of the earlier onset of the thermal growing season decreased, and that of the later ending increased rapidly as the altitude increased, causing the magnitude of the prolonged growing season increased correspondingly. Comparing the applicability of selected indices and considering the impacts of frost on the definitions are important and necessary for determining the timing and length of the thermal growing season in northern China.

Impacts of the Diurnal Cycle of Solar Radiation on Spiral Rainbands

Based on idealized numerical simulations, the impacts of the diurnal cycle of solar radiation on the diurnal variation of outer rainbands in a tropical cyclone are examined. It is found that cold pools associated with precipitation-driven downdrafts are essential for the growth and propagation of spiral rainbands. The downdrafts result in surface outflows, which act as a lifting mechanism to trigger the convection cell along the leading edge of the cold pools. The diurnal cycle of solar radiation may modulate the diurnal behavior of the spiral rainbands. In the daytime, shortwave radiation will suppress the outer convection and thus weaken the cold pools. Meanwhile, the limited cold pool activity leads to a strong modification of the moisture field, which in turn inhibits further convection development.

Evaluation of WRF Model Hydrometeors Based on TMI Observations Using an Indirect Method

Using a microwave radiative transfer （MWRT） model with microwave brightness temperatures （TBs） observed from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission （TRMM） Microwave Imager （TMI）, an indirect approach evaluated hydrometeors generated from the Weather Research and Forecasting （WRY） model in the process of CHABA typhoon in August 2004. This study compares the simulated TBs generated from the microwave radioactive transfer model connected to the WRF model with the observed TBs derived from TMI and analyzes the differences between these TBs. The results indicate that the WRF model underestimates the amount and area of liquid and ice hydrometeors inside the typhoon center. The results also indicate relatively better agreement between the simulated and the observed TBs in the vertical polarization than in the horizontal polarization.

The Extreme Mei-yu Season in 2020:Role of the Madden-Julian Oscillation and the Cooperative Influence of the Pacific and Indian Oceans

The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in eastern China during summer 2020 suffered the strongest mei-yu since 1961.In this work,we comprehensively analyzed the mechanism of the extreme mei-yu season in 2020,with focuses on the combined effects of the Madden-Julian Oscillation(MJO)and the cooperative influence of the Pacific and Indian Oceans in 2020 and from a historical perspective.The prediction and predictability of the extreme mei-yu are further investigated by assessing the performances of the climate model operational predictions and simulations.It is noted that persistent MJO phases 1−2 during June−July 2020 played a crucial role for the extreme mei-yu by strengthening the western Pacific subtropical high.Both the development of La Niña conditions and sea surface temperature(SST)warming in the tropical Indian Ocean exerted important influences on the long-lived MJO phases 1−2 by slowing down the eastward propagation of the MJO and activating convection related to the MJO over the tropical Indian Ocean.The spatial distribution of the 2020 mei-yu can be qualitatively captured in model real-time forecasts with a one-month lead.This can be attributed to the contributions of both the tropical Indian Ocean warming and La Niña development.Nevertheless,the mei-yu rainfall amounts are seriously underestimated.Model simulations forced with observed SST suggest that internal processes of the atmosphere play a more important role than boundary forcing(e.g.,SST)in the variability of mei-yu anomaly,implying a challenge in quantitatively predicting an extreme mei-yu season,like the one in 2020.

Possible effects of climate change of wind on aerosol variation during winter in Shanghai,China

Several data sets were introduced to investigate the possible effects of climate-change-related variation of wind on aerosol concentration during winter in Shanghai, China. These data sets included the daily wind speed, wind direction, visibility, and precipitation from 1956 to 2010, hourly PM10 concentration from 2008 to 2010, and the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data of global atmospheric circulation from 1956 to 2010. The trend of aerosol concentration and its correlations with wind speed and wind direction in winter were analyzed. Results indicated that there was an increase in the number of haze days in winter of 2.1 days/decade. Aerosol concentration, represented by PMl0 in this study, was highly correlated to both wind speed and direction in winter. The PMl0 concentration increased as wind speed decreased, reaching maximum values under static wind conditions. The PM10 concentration was relatively lower under easterly winds and higher under westerly winds. The analysis showed that weaker East Asia winter monsoons have resulted in a reduction of wind speed, increase in static wind frequency, and decline in the frequency of northerly winds since the 1980s. Moreover, the rapid expansion of urban construction in Shanghai has changed the underlying surface considerably, which has led to a reduction in wind speed. Finally, a wind factor was defined to estimate the combined effects of wind speed and wind direction on aerosol concentrations in Shanghai. The analysis of this factor indicated that changes in atmosphere circulation and urbanization have had important effects on the number of winter haze days in Shanghai.

THE ABRUPT CHANGE OF TROPICAL CYCLONE NUMBER OVER THE WESTERN NORTH PACIFIC IN THE MID-1990s

Based on the CMA tropical cyclone(TC) best track data as well as the reanalysis datasets from the NCEP/NCAR and NOAA, the variation characteristics of TC number from 1949 to 2013 over the western North Pacific(including the South China Sea) are examined. Notably, the time series of TC number exhibits a significant abrupt change from more to less around 1995. Comparative analysis indicates that the environmental factors necessary to TC formation also change significantly around the mid-1990 s. After 1995, accompanying with anomalous warm sea surface temperature(SST) in western equatorial Pacific, a La Nia-like pattern in tropical Pacific appears obviously. However,compared with the period before 1995, the vertical upward movement decreases, vertical shear of tropospheric zonal wind increases, and sea level pressure(SLP) rises, all of which are unfavorable to TC formation and work together to make TC number reduce markedly after 1995. Furthermore, when the typical interannual more and less TCs years are selected in the two separate stages before and after 1995, the relative importance of oceanic and atmospheric environments in interannual TC generation is also investigated respectively. The results imply that the SST over the tropical Pacific exerts relatively important influence on TC formation before 1995 whereas the atmospheric circulation plays a more prominent role in the generation of TC after 1995.

Agro-climatic adaptation of cropping systems under climate change in Shanghai

Climate change affects the heat and water resources required by agriculture, thus shifting cropping rotation and intensity. Shanghai is located in the Taihu Lake basin, a transition zone for various cropping systems. In the basin, moderate climate changes can cause major shifts in cropping intensity and rotation. In the present study, we integrated observational climate data, one regional climate model, land use maps, and agricultural statistics to analyze the relationship between heat resources and multi-cropping potential in Shanghai. The results of agro-climatic assessment showed that climate change over the past 50 years has significantly enhanced regional agro- climatic resources, rendering a shift from double cropping to triple cropping possible. However, a downward trend is evident in the actual multi-cropping index, caused principally by the increasing costs of farming and limitations in the supply of labor. We argue that improving the utilization rate of the enhanced agro-climatic resources is possible by introducing new combinations of cultivars, adopting more laborsaving technologies, and providing incentives to farmers.

Impact of site management on changes in soil carbon after afforestation:A review

Afforestation and forest management can increase carbon stocks and account for emission reduction according to the Kyoto Protocol. Site management has important effects on the accumulation of soil carbon after afforestation. This review examines the effects of site management, including soil disturbance, fertilization, thinning, weed control, harvesting and controlled burning, on soil carbon dynamics in plantations, based on recent published results. Soil disturbance can enhance soil carbon losses, with whole ploughing causing the most and disking the least loss of soil carbon. The effects of fertilization and thinning on soil carbon are in- conclusive. Weed control can prevent the carbon input from above-grotmd residue and root turnover and increase soil temperature and soil erosion, which in turn reduces the amount of carbon on the soil surface. Soil carbon decreases with the increase of harvest- ing intensity and the retention of harvest residue can significantly enhance the accumulation of carbon in the soil. Controlled burning before afforestation has a short-term benefit for soil carbon, but it is not beneficial to the sequestration of soil carbon over the long term. Future studies should focus on investigating the long-term impact of site management practices, especially soil fertilization and thinning, on carbon, identifying the response of major functional pools of soil carbon to management practices, understanding the dy- namics of soil nitrogen pools and their role in long-term soil carbon sequestration, as well as quantifying soil carbon processes under different climate conditions and site management scenarios using models.