西南地区未来极端降水增加将导致其人口暴露风险加剧

基于CN05.1观测数据和一套经过降尺度偏差校正处理的模式(NEX-GDDP-CMIP6)数据,结合泰勒图、GEV极值拟合等方法,综合评估了模式对西南地区极端降水变化的模拟性能,并系统分析了未来西南地区不同重现期的极端降水演变趋势及其人口暴露度变化。结果表明,NEX-GDDP-CMIP6模式及其集合(N-CMIP6-MME)能够较好地再现观测极端降水的时空变化特征,且多模式集合结果优于大多数单个模式。未来西南地区绝大多数区域的降水和极端降水将持续增加,十年一遇、二十年一遇极端降水事件也呈增加趋势,使得未来西南地区人口暴露于不同重现期极端降水的风险进一步增加。相比十年一遇,重现期为20 a的极端降水事件增加速度更快,增加范围更广,模式一致性也更高,对应的人口暴露度增加幅度更大。到2050年左右,在SSP1-2.6、SSP2-4.5、SSP3-7.0和SSP5-8.5情景下二十年一遇的RX1day(RX5day)分别增加了175.2%(148.9%)、216.0%(162.4%)、210.9%(156.8%)和274.3%(207.1%),对应人口暴露度分别增加了129.1%(118.8%)、177.7%(135.1%)、182.4%(143.2%)和237.5%(161.5%)。进一步分析指出,在未来极端降水人口暴露度的变化中,气候变化占主导作用,其次是人口变化和人口-气候协同作用的影响。

基于RegCM4模式的我国西南地区极端降水变化预估研究

基于5个全球气候系统模式结果驱动的高分辨率区域气候模式(RegCM4)模拟输出,系统评估了RegCM4模式对中国西南地区极端降水变化的模拟性能,并科学预估了中国西南地区极端降水的未来演变特征。结果表明,RegCM4模式能合理再现西南地区极端降水变化特征,但模拟的四川中部的湿偏差较大而四川盆地干偏差较大;进行偏差校正后,模拟性能有所提升,对西南地区极端降水模拟偏差有所减小。相较于当代气候(1986-2005年),就区域平均而言在21世纪(2021-2098年),有效降水总量(Prcptot)、强降水日数(R10 mm)、日最大降水量(Rx1day)和极端降水量(R95p)都明显增加;在RCP4.5和RCP8.5情景下,Rx1day和R95p在西南大部分地区增多,到21世纪末RCP4.5情景下增加幅度分别为16.0%和12.6%;Prcptot和R10 mm未来变化存在一定的区域差异,但Prcptot和R10 mm变化在空间上较为相似,在云南南部和四川盆地地区呈现减少趋势,其余地区增加明显;且RCP8.5高排放情景的变化幅度明显大于RCP4.5情景。

“一带一路”区域气候变化事实、影响及可能风险

“一带一路”区域国家经济、政治发展极不平衡,随着全球气候变暖,区域内的自然环境、气候资源、水资源等都将面临着显著而复杂的变化,并且干旱、洪涝等多种气候灾害是“一带一路”区域可持续发展和重大基础设施建设面临的重大威胁之一。目前,“一带一路”倡议已经进入实质性建设阶段,沿线地区的气候变化及其灾害风险关乎“一带一路”倡议能否顺利实施及亚投行的投资安全。在此背景下,2016—2018年中国科学院地球科学学部实施了“‘一带一路’区域气候变化问题”咨询评议项目,项目针对该区域气候变化的事实、未来变化预估、气候变化的可能影响以及带来的潜在风险等问题进行了系统的调研,并开展了若干分析和研究。经过两年的努力,项目组完成了有关进展报告四份,包括一份总报告和三份分报告。本文扼要地概括和介绍了项目取得的主要成果。

中国气候预测研究与业务发展的回顾

天气预报是指一周内至两周时间尺度的气象预报,而月季及以上时间尺度的预报则属于气候预测范畴。中国的气候预测起步很早,无论在研究工作中还是在业务应用上都取得了显著成就。文中扼要回顾了这些研究和业务发展成就,重点包括:对于季风和梅雨、寒潮的早期认知和后期研究发现、早期气候预测业务发展概况、动力气候预测的早期探索、动力-统计气候预测方法的研制和应用、气候预测模式的发展以及初始化和多模式集合预测、东亚气候系统变异的全方位探索、气候预测范畴的不断拓展和气候预测研究的不断创新。也对未来气候预测研究和业务发展提出了几个重大挑战性课题,涉及不同时间尺度气候变异过程之间的相互作用、季节内至年代际气候预测、气候系统模式及初始化、动力-统计相结合的气候预测方法等方面。

降尺度方法在东亚气候预测中的应用

东亚气候变异十分复杂,全球动力预测系统对该地气候异常的预测能力偏低,如何进一步提高东亚地区气候异常的预测水平是一个非常重要的科学和现实需求问题。为此,近些年一系列的动力和统计降尺度方法得以发展。本文主要回顾了这些降尺度方法在东亚气候预测研究和实时预测中的应用。首先,文中简要介绍了我国目前应用于实时预测的全球动力预测系统及其性能,这是开展降尺度的科学和技术基础;在此基础上,从区域模式物理过程参数化方案的评估与遴选、区域模式在东亚气候预测中的应用两个方面,对于动力降尺度方法的发展和应用做了回顾;在统计降尺度的综述中,本文主要关注了东亚夏季汛期和冬季气候异常的预测,特别是针对东亚冬季气候异常,本文中提出了新的高效的统计与动力相结合的预测方法。最后,展望了短期气候预测需要进一步深入研究的科学和技术问题。

Assessment of model performance of precipitation extremes over the mid-high latitude areas of Northern Hemisphere:from CMIP5 to CMIP6

This study explores the model performance of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6(CMIP6)in simulating precipitation extremes over the mid–high latitudes of Asia,as compared with predecessor models in the previous phase,CMIP5.Results show that the multimodel ensemble median generally outperforms the individual models in simulating the climate means of precipitation extremes.The CMIP6 models possess a relatively higher capability in this respect than the CMIP5 models.However,discrepancies also exist between models and observation,insofar as most of the simulated indices are positively biased to varying degrees.With respect to the temporal performance of indices,the majority are overestimated at most time points,along with large uncertainty.Therefore,the capacity to simulate the interannual variability needs to be further improved.Furthermore,pairwise and multimodel ensemble comparisons were performed for 12 models to evaluate the performance of individual models,revealing that most of the new-version models are better than their predecessors,albeit with some variance in the metrics amongst models and indices.

Increased population exposure to precipitation extremes in China under global warming scenarios

Precipitation extremes are among the most dangerous climate-related hazards over China, and they are expected to significantly increase in the future in both frequency and intensity. Exposure to precipitation extremes and changes therein are determined by extreme events and the corresponding population changes. Here, the authors analyze the changing population exposure across China in the future using ensembles of high-resolution simulations with Reg CM4 and population scenarios. The authors find that aggregate exposure over China increases by nearly 21.6% under the RCP4.5-SSP2 scenario by the end of this century, although populations are projected to decrease. East China will experience the largest absolute increase in exposure from 424 million person-events to 546 million person-events, while the Tibetan Plateau region will experience the largest relative increase of nearly 44.4%. This increase in exposure mainly results from the climate effect contribution. Further assessments indicate that the exposure increase over China does not rely on the greenhouse gas emissions and population growth scenarios, but the higher emissions scenario generally leads to higher exposure regardless of population growth, highlighting the efficacy of mitigation efforts in reducing exposure to precipitation extremes.

Projected change in extreme rainfall events in China by the end of the 21st century using CMIP5 models

Projection of future climate changes and their regional impact is critical for long-term planning at the national and regional levels aimed at adaptation and mitigation. This study assesses the future changes in precipitation in China and the associated atmospheric circulation patterns using the Couple Model Intercomparison Project 5 Phase (CMIP5) simulations under the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. The results consistently indicate that the annual precipitation in China is projected to significantly increase at the end of the 21st century compared to the present-day levels. The number of days and the intensity of medium rain, large rain and heavy rain are obviously increased, while the number of trace rain days is projected to decrease over the entire area of China. Further analysis indicates that the significant increase of annual precipitation in Northwest China is primarily due to the increase of light rain and the increases in North and Northeast China are primarily due to the increase of medium rain. In the region of southern China, the increases of large rain and heavy rain play an important role in the increase of annual precipitation, while light rain events play a negative role. Analysis of the changes in atmospheric circulation indicates that the East Asian summer monsoon circulation is projected to be considerably stronger, and the local atmospheric stratification is projected to be more unstable, all of which provide a background benefit for the increase of precipitation and extreme rainfall events in China under global warming scenarios.

Predictability of western North Pacific typhoon activity and its factors using DEMETER coupled models

Climate prediction using a coupled model with a one-tier scheme is an important research direction. In this study, based on 1974- 2001 hindcasts obtained from the "Development of a European Multimodel Ensemble system for seasonal to inTERannual prediction" (DEMETER) project, the capability of coupled general circulation models (CGCMs) to predict six climatic factors that have a close relationship with the western North Pacific typhoon activity is investigated over summer (June-October). Results indicate that all six DEMETER CGCMs well predict the six factors. Using the statistical relationship between these six factors and the typhoon frequency, the ability of the CGCMs to predict typhoon frequency is further explored. It is found that the six CGCMs also well predict the variability in typhoon frequency. Comparison analysis shows that the prediction skill of the statistical downscaling method is much better than that of the raw CGCMs. In addition, the six-model ensemble has the best prediction performance. This study suggests that combining a multi-model ensemble and statistical downscaling greatly improves the CGCM prediction skill, and will be an important research direction for typhoon prediction.