Changes in the Boreal Summer Intraseasonal Oscillation under Global Warming in CMIP6 Models

Changes in the activities of the Boreal Summer Intraseasonal Oscillation(BSISO)at the end of 21st century under the SSP5-8.5 scenario are assessed by adopting 17 CMIP6 models and the weak-temperature-gradient assumption.Results show that the intraseasonal variations become more structured.The BSISO-related precipitation anomaly shows a larger zonal scale and propagates further northward.However,there is no broad agreement among models on the changes in the eastward and northward propagation speeds and the frequency of individual phases.In the western North Pacific(WNP),the BSISO precipitation variance is significantly increased,at 4.62%K^(−1),due to the significantly increased efficiency of vertical moisture transport per unit of BSISO apparent heating.The vertical velocity variance is significantly decreased,at−3.51%K^(−1),in the middle troposphere,due to the significantly increased mean-state static stability.Changes in the lower-level zonal wind variance are relatively complex,with a significant increase stretching from the northwestern to southeastern WNP,but the opposite in other regions.This is probably due to the combined impacts of the northeastward shift of the BSISO signals and the reduced BSISO vertical velocity variance under global warming.Changes in strong and normal BSISO events in the WNP are also compared.They show same-signed changes in precipitation and large-scale circulation anomalies but opposite changes in the vertical velocity anomalies.This is probably because the precipitation anomaly of strong(normal)events changes at a rate much larger(smaller)than that of the meanstate static stability,causing enhanced(reduced)vertical motion.

Increased population exposures to extreme precipitation in Central Asia under 1.5℃ and 2℃ global warming scenarios

The increase in extreme precipitation(EP)may pose a serious threat to the health and safety of population in arid and semi-arid regions.The current research on the impact of EP on population in Central Asia(CA)is insufficient and there is an urgent need for a comprehensive assessment.Hence,we opted for precipitation and temperature data under two Shared Socioeconomic Pathways(SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5)from ten Global Climate Models(GCMs),which were obtained from the NASA Earth Exchange Global Daily Downscaled Projections(NEX-GDDP-CMIP6).By integrating population data in 2020 and 2050(SSP2 and SSP5),we investigated the future changes in EP and population exposure in CA under 1.5℃and 2℃global warming scenarios(GWSs).Our analysis indicates that EP in CA is projected to increase with global warming.Under the SSP5-8.5,the maximum daily precipitation(Rx1day)exhibits an average response rate to global warming of 3.58%/K(1.99-4.06%/K).With rising temperatures,an increasing number of areas and populations in CA will be impacted by EP,especially in the Fergana valley.Approximately 25%of the population(land area)in CA is exposed to Rx1day with increases of more than 8.31%(9.32%)under 1.5℃GWS and 14.18%(13.25%)under 2℃GWS.Controlling temperature rise can be effective in reducing population exposures to EP.For instance,limiting the temperature increase to 1.5℃instead of 2℃results in a 2.79%(1.75%-4.59%)reduction in population exposure to Rx1day.Finally,we found that climate change serves as the predominant factor influencing the population exposure to EP,while the role of population redistribution,although relatively minor,should not be disregarded.Particularly for prolonged drought,the role of population redistribution manifests negatively.

Variability of the Pacific subtropical cells under global warming in CMIP6 models

The Pacific subtropical cells(STCs)are shallow meridional overturning circulations connecting the tropics and subtropics,and are assumed to be an important driver of the tropical Pacific decadal variability.The variability of STCs under global warming is investigated using multimodal outputs from the latest phase of the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project(CMIP6)and ocean reanalysis products.Firstly,the volume transport diagnostic analysis is employed to evaluate how coupled models and ocean reanalysis products reproduce interior STC transport.The variation of heat transport by the interior STC under the high-emissions warming scenarios is also analyzed.The results show that the multimodal-mean linear trends of the interior STC transport along 9°S and 9°N are-0.02 Sv/a and 0.04 Sv/a under global warming,respectively,which is mainly due to the combined effect of the strengthened upper oceanic stratification and the weakening of wind field.There is a compensation relationship between the interior STC and the western boundary transport in the future climate,and the compensation relationship of 9°S is more significant than that of 9°N.In addition,compared with ocean reanalysis products,the coupled models tend to underestimate the variability of the interior STC transport convergence,and thus may lose some sea surface temperature(SST)driving force,which may be the reason for the low STC-SST correlation simulated by the model.The future scenario simulation shows that the heat transport of interior STC is weakened under global warming,with a general agreement across models.

Bad News—The Dominant Causes of the Earth’s Global Warming Are Processes on the Sun, and Humanity Can Do Nothing or Little to Stop It?

Arguments that global warming in the Earth’s atmosphere of the last 70 years is partially or entirely caused by changes in the solar magnetic field are presented in the work. Global warming is probably a consequence of ionizing radiation emitted from the Sun mainly in the “rise” phase of solar activity. The ionizing radiation is positively charged particles with high energy. They penetrate deep into the Earth’s atmosphere, creating increased content of ions serving as condensation nuclei. The condensation nuclei increase cloudiness in the lower atmosphere and lower the surface air temperature. When solar activity decreases as observed in the last 70 years, the reverse process occurs— cloud cover decreases, more solar electromagnetic radiation reaches the earth’s surface and increases the temperature. An additional argument for the presence of high-energy radiation that penetrates deeply into the Earth’s atmosphere and even reaches the Earth’s surface is the high statistically significant correlation between the fluxes of such radiation recorded by GOES series satellites in a geostationary orbit (36,000 km above the Earth’s surface) and the human mortality from deadliest diseases.

Global Warming in Japanese Cities from 1960 to 2019 Using Machine Learning

In this study, we investigated the variations in warming between Japanese cities for 1960-1989, and 1990-2019 using principal component analysis (PCA) and k-means clustering. The precipitation and sunshine hours exhibited opposite tendencies in the PCA results. It was found that 1960M and 1990M had a correlation (r = 0.51). The 1960M and 1990M are the mean temperature anomalies in Japanese cities for 1960-1989 and 1990-2019, respectively. There was a strong correlation between temperature and precipitation (r = 0.62). There was an inverse correlation between 1960M and sunshine hours (r = −0.25), but a correlation between 1990M and sunshine hours (r = 0.11). Sunshine hours had less effect on the 1960M but more impact on the 1990M. The k-means clustering for 1960M and 1990M can be classified into four types: high 1960M and high 1990M, which indicates that global warming is progressing rapidly (Sapporo, Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagasaki), low 1960M and low 1990M, global warming is progressing slowly (Nemuro, Ishinomaki, Yamagata, Niigata, Fushiki, Nagano, Karuizawa, Mito, Suwa, Iida, Hamada, Miyazaki, Naha), low 1960M and high 1990M, global warming has accelerated since 1990 (Utsunomiya, Kofu, Okayama, Hiroshima), and normal 1960M and normal 1990M, the rate of warming is normal among the 38 cities (Asahikawa, Aomori, Akita, Kanazawa, Maebashi, Matsumoto, Yokohama, Gifu, Nagoya, Hamamatsu, Kochi, Kagoshima). Higher annual temperatures were correlated with higher annual precipitation according to the k-means clustering of temperature and precipitation. Two of the four categories consisted of places with high annual temperatures and high precipitation (Fushiki, Kanazawa, Kochi, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, Naha, Ishigakijima), and places with low annual temperatures and low precipitation (Asahikawa, Nemuro, Sapporo, Karuizawa).

Effects of Anthropogenic CO2 and Thermally-Induced CO2 on Global Warming

Changes in CO2 and temperature are correlated, but it is difficult to observe which is the cause and which is the effect. The release of CO2 dissolved in the ocean into the atmosphere depends on the atmospheric temperature. However, examining the relationship between changes in CO2 caused by other phenomena and temperature is difficult. Studies of soil respiration (Rs) since the late 20th century have shown that CO2 emissions from soil respiration (Rs) are overwhelmingly greater than CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion. This is also noted in the IPCC carbon budget assessment. In this paper, the dependences of Rs on temperature, time, latitude, precipitation, seasons, etc., were investigated using the latest NASA database. The changes in temperature and Rs correlated well. There is also a good correlation between Rs and CO2 generation. Therefore, an increase in temperature results in an increase in CO2. On the other hand, there is no evidence other than model calculations that an increase in anthropogenic CO2 is mainly linked to a rise in temperature. The idea that global warming is caused by anthropogenic CO2 production is still a hypothesis. For these reasons, the relationship between global warming and anthropogenic CO2 should be reconsidered based on physical evidence without preconceptions. .

The Analysis of Global Warming Patterns from 1970s to 2010s

While global warming is only one part of climate change effects, it poses the highest risk to our habitats and ecologies. It is alarming that global warming has heightened in multiple locations and is intensified since the early 1970s. Since then, there are certain global warming patterns that could guide us with an overview of what mitigation and adaptation strategies should be developed in the future decades. There are certain regions affected more than another, and there are certain patterns with adverse effects on regions, sub-regions, and even continents. This study provides an insightful analysis of recent global warming patterns, those that are affecting us the most with regional climate change of different types, upsurge in frequency and intensity of natural disasters, and drastic impacts on our ecosystems around the world. By analysing the global warming patterns of these last four decades, this research study sheds light on where these patterns are coming from, how they are developing, and what are their impacts. This study is conducted through grey literature and analysis of the recorded global warming data publicly available by the NASA-GISS data centre for global temperature. This brief—but comprehensive—analysis helps us to have a better understanding of what comes next for global warming impacts, and how we should ultimately react. The study contributes to the field by discovering three key points analysed based on available data and literature on recorded global temperature, including: differences between north and south hemispheres, specific patterns due to ocean surface temperature increase, and recent impacts on particular regions. The study concludes with the importance of global scale analysis to have a more realistic understanding of the global warming patterns and their impacts on all living habitats.

Impacts of global warming on marine zooplankton

Global warming has been being a serious issue since 1980, and it impacts environment and biosphere. Here, we reviewed the physiological and ecological responses of marine zooplankton which is an important component of biosphere to the global warming. Much research on physiological changes in response to different temperature is given to discuss this issue. Furthermore, we focused on ecological changes of zooplankton to global warming and several indices such as abundance, biomass, biodiversity and biogeographic boundary are enumerated. Phenological changes of zooplankton were presented, followed by the prospects of this subject, viz. observing more functional groups, more concerning on zooplankton in tropical region and investigation on a species-level zooplankton system.

Simulation of Pacific Ocean Circulations Based on Global Warming from 1960 to 1999

The Pacific Ocean circulations were simulated based on the global warming from 1960 to 1999 by using the Non-Boussinesq POP model and the data of wind stress and temperature at 1 000 hPa from the NCEP. The results show that the circulation in the tropical Pacific Ocean was weakening during the past 40 years. The heat transported to the tropical western Pacific Ocean coast by the north equatorial current and the heat transported to middle and high latitudes in the southem hemisphere by the south equatorial current decreased with time due to the global warming, while the heat transported to middle and high latitudes in the northern hemisphere by the north equatorial current increased with time due to the global warming.

Response of Vegetation in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to Global Warming

Using satellite-observed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index （NDVI） dada and station-observed surface air temperature anomalies for the Northern Hemisphere （NH）, we analyze the spatio-temporal characteristics of vegetation variations in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and their correlations with global warming from 1982 to 2002. It is found that the late spring and early summer （May-June） are the months with the strongest responses of vegetation to global warming. Based on the Rotated Empirical Orthogonal Function （REOF） method, the study shows that the first REOF spatial pattern of average NDVI for May-June reveals the northern and southern zones with great inter-annual variations of vegetation, the northern zone from the eastern Ktmlun Mountains to the southwestern Qilian Mountain and southern zone from the northern edge of the Himalayas eastward to the Hengduan Mountains. The vegetation, especially grassland, in the two zones increases significantly with global warming, with a correlation coefficient of 0.71 between the first REOF of May-June vegetation and the April-May surface air temperature anomaly in the NH during 1982-2002. A long-term increasing trend in May-June vegetation for the plateau region as a whole is also attributed mainly to global warming although there are considerable regional differences. The areas with low NDVI （grassland and shrubland） usually respond more evidently to global warming, especially since the 1990s, than those with moderate or high NDVI values.

Future Changes in Extreme High Temperature over China at 1.5℃-5℃ Global Warming Based on CMIP6 Simulations

Extreme high temperature(EHT)events are among the most impact-related consequences related to climate change,especially for China,a nation with a large population that is vulnerable to the climate warming.Based on the latest Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6(CMIP6),this study assesses future EHT changes across China at five specific global warming thresholds(1.5℃-5℃).The results indicate that global mean temperature will increase by 1.5℃/2℃ before 2030/2050 relative to pre-industrial levels(1861-1900)under three future scenarios(SSP1-2.6,SSP2-4.5,and SSP5-8.5),and warming will occur faster under SSP5-8.5 compared to SSP1-2.6 and SSP2-4.5.Under SSP5-8.5,global warming will eventually exceed 5℃ by 2100,while under SSP1-2.6,it will stabilize around 2℃ after 2050.In China,most of the areas where warming exceeds global average levels will be located in Tibet and northern China(Northwest China,North China and Northeast China),covering 50%-70%of the country.Furthermore,about 0.19-0.44 billion people(accounting for 16%-41%of the national population)will experience warming above the global average.Compared to present-day(1995-2014),the warmest day(TXx)will increase most notably in northern China,while the number of warm days(TX90p)and warm spell duration indicator(WSDI)will increase most profoundly in southern China.For example,relative to the present-day,TXx will increase by 1℃-5℃ in northern China,and TX90p(WSDI)will increase by 25-150(10-80)days in southern China at 1.5℃-5℃ global warming.Compared to 2℃-5℃,limiting global warming to 1.5℃ will help avoid about 36%-87%of the EHT increases in China.

Trend of Salt Lake Changes in the Background of Global Warming and Tactics for Adaptation to the Changes

Salt lakes are a mirror of climatic changes and provide holographic records of environmental changes of lakes. According to a study of geological hazards in typical salt lake areas in China and other regions, the authors explain how geological hazards in salt lake areas are caused by natural agents and how humans can seek benefits, avoid hazards and reduce losses on the premise that they have monitored and mastered the trend of salt lake changes in advance and even can store flood and recharge water in lakes and extract saline resources. The climate in western China is probably turning from warm-dry to warm-moist. The authors analyze the change trend of salt lakes sensu lato (with salinity≥0.3 wt% (NaCl)eq) and salt lakes sensu stricto (with salinity ≥3.5 wt% (NaCl)eq) in China in such climatic conditions and distinguish three types of salt lake areas (i.e. lake water rising type, lake water falling type and lake water rising and unstable type) according to the characteristics of lake water rising and shrinking. In order to conform to the climatic and lake changes in China's salt lake areas, the authors propose to add and improve hydrological and meteorological observation stations and integrate observations with remote sensing monitoring in important salt lake areas and set up multidisciplinary and interdepartmental basic projects to monitor and study recent climatic and environmental changes in salt lake areas of western China. Moreover, it is necessary to build additional flood-control and drought-preventing water conservancy facilities in key salt lake areas and work out measures for ecological protection in salt lake areas. Full consideration should be given to the influence of flooding when building saltfields and implementing capital projects.

Impacts of Global Warming Perturbation on Water Resources in Arid Zone: Case Study of Kaidu River Basin in Northwest China

The main goal of this study was to assess the long-term impacts of global warming perturbation on water resources of the Kaidu River Basin in Northwest China. Temperature, precipitation and hydrology data during the past 29 years from 1979 to 2007 were collected and analyzed using parametric and non-parametric methods, the connection between temperature and precipitation by the combination of grey correlation analysis method and the hypothesis testing for trend of climate change. The results show a high increase in temperature in the study area as well as an extreme and highly variable hydrological regime in this region, where flash floods can exceed the total runoff from a sequence of years. These variations may be due to the geographical location of the Kaidu River Basin in arid zone. It also reveals that precipitation has a much greater impact on stream flow than that of temperature. The development of new approaches was proposed as responses to climate change in this arid region.

The Impact of Global Warming on the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and the Possible Mechanism

The response of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation （PDO） to global warming according to the Fast Ocean Atmosphere Model （FOAM） and global warming comparison experiments of 11 IPCC AR4 models is investigated. The results show that North Pacific ocean decadal variability, its dominant mode （i.e., PDO）, and atmospheric decadal variability, have become weaker under global warming, but with PDO shifting to a higher frequency. The SST decadal variability reduction maximum is shown to be in the subpolar North Pacific Ocean and western North Pacific （PDO center）. The atmospheric decadal variability reduction maximum is over the PDO center. It was also found that oceanic baroclinic Rossby waves play a key role in PDO dynamics, especially those in the subpolar ocean. As the frequency of ocean buoyancy increases under a warmer climate, oceanic baroclinic Rossby waves become faster, and the increase in their speed ratio in the high latitudes is much larger than in the low latitudes. The faster baroclinic Rossby waves can cause the PDO to shift to a higher frequency, and North Pacific decadal variability and PDO to become weaker.

Intensified East Asian summer monsoon and associated precipitation mode shift under the 1.5 ℃ global warming target

In this study, the East Asian summer climate changes under the 1.5 ℃ global warming （1.5 GW） target in 30 simulations derived from 15 coupled models within the Coupled Model Intercomparison Program phase 5 （CMIP5） are examined. Compared with the current summer climate （1975-2005）, both surface air temperature and precipitation increase significantly over the East Asian continent during the 1.5 GW period （average period 2021-2051）. In northeastern China this is particularly pronounced with regional averaged precipitation increases of more than 7.2%, which is greater than that for the whole East Asian continent （approximately 4.2%）. Due to stronger enhancement of precipitation north of 40°N, the leading empirical orthogonal function （EOF） mode of summer precipitation over the East Asian continent changes from tripolar-like mode to dipole mode. As there is stronger surface warming over the East Asian continent than that over surrounding ocean, the land-sea thermal contrast is enhanced during the 1.5 GW period. As a result, the monsoon circulation in the lower troposphere is significantly strengthened, which causes the increased summer precipitation over the East Asian continent. In addition, larger interannual variabilities of East Asian summer monsoon circulation and associated precipitation are also suggested for the 1.5 GW period.

On the Response of the Global Subduction Rate to Global Warming in Coupled Climate Models

The response of the global subduction rate to global warming was assessed based on a set of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change （IPCC） Fourth Assessment Report （AR4） models. It was found that the subduction rate of the global ocean could be significantly reduced under a warming climate, as compared to a simulation of the present-day climate. The reduction in the subduction volume was quantitatively estimated at about 40 Sv and was found to be= primarily induced by the decreasing of the lateral induction term due to a shallower winter mixed layer depth. The shrinking of the winter mixed layer would result from intensified stratification caused by increased heat input into the ocean under a warming climate. A reduction in subduction associated with the vertical pumping term was estimated at about 5 Sv. F^rther, in the Southern Ocean, a significant reduction in subduction was estimated at around 24 Sv, indicating a substantial contribution to the weakening of global subduction.

Flooding 1990s along the Yangtze River, has it concern of global warming?

There were a series of severe floods along the middle to lower reaches of the Yangtze River (Changjiang River) in China during the 1990s. The extensive summer (June, July and August) precipitation is mostly responsible for the flooding. The summer rainfall in the 1980s and the 1990s is much higher than that in the previous 3 decades. The means for 1990–1999 is +87.62 mm above normal, marked the 1990s the wettest decade since the 1950s. Six stations with a time span of 1880–1999 are selected to establish century-long rainfall series. This series also shows that the 1990s is the wettest decade during the last 120 years. In the wettest 12 years, four occurred in the 1990s (1991, 1996, 1998 and 1999). Both global and China’s temperature show there is a relative lower air temperature during the 1960–1970s, and a rapid warming in the 1980–1990s. Comparisons of rainfall between 1960–1979 and 1980–1999 show there are dramatic changes. In the cold period 1960–1979, the summer rainfall along the Yangtze River is 3.8 % to 4.7 % below the normal, during the warm period 1980–1999, over 8.4 % to 18.2 % of summer rainfall occurs. Over the whole eastern China, the summer rainfall shows opposite spatial patterns from the 1960–1970s to 1980–1990s. The consistent trend toward more rainfall with global warming is also presented by the greenhouse scenario modeling. A millennial Drought/flood Index for the middle to lower reaches of the Yangtze River showed that although the surplus summer rainfall in the 1990s is the severest during the past 150 years, it is not outstanding in the context of past millennium. Power spectra of the Drought/flood Index show significant interdecadal periods at 33.3 and 11.8 years. Thus, both the natural interdecadal variations and the global warming may play important roles in the frequent floods witnessed during the last two decades.

Biochar amendments increase soil organic carbon storage and decrease global warming potentials of soil CH4 and N2O under N addition in a subtropical Moso bamboo plantation

Background: Nitrogen(N) deposition affects soil greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions, while biochar application reduces GHG emissions in agricultural soils. However, it remains unclear whether biochar amendment can alleviate the promoting effects of N input on GHG emissions in forest soils. Here, we quantify the separate and combined effects of biochar amendment(0, 20, and 40 t·ha) and N addition(0, 30, 60, and 90 kg N·ha·yr) on soil GHG fluxes in a long-term field experiment at a Moso bamboo(Phyllostachys edulis) plantation.Results: Low and moderate N inputs(≤60 kg N·ha·yr) significantly increase mean annual soil carbon dioxide(CO) and nitrous oxide(NO) emissions by 17.0%–25.4% and 29.8%–31.2%, respectively, while decreasing methane(CH) uptake by 12.4%–15.9%, leading to increases in the global warming potential(GWP) of soil CHand NO fluxes by 32.4%–44.0%. Moreover, N addition reduces soil organic carbon(C;SOC) storage by 0.2%–6.5%. Compared to the control treatment, biochar amendment increases mean annual soil CO2emissions, CHuptake, and SOC storage by 18.4%–25.4%, 7.6%–15.8%, and 7.1%–13.4%, respectively, while decreasing NO emissions by 17.6%–19.2%, leading to a GWP decrease of 18.4%–21.4%. Biochar amendments significantly enhance the promoting effects of N addition on soil COemissions, while substantially offsetting the promotion of N2O emissions, inhibition of CHuptake, and decreased SOC storage, resulting in a GWP decrease of 9.1%–30.3%.Additionally, soil COand CHfluxes are significantly and positively correlated with soil microbial biomass C(MBC) and pH. Meanwhile, NO emissions have a significant and positive correlation with soil MBC and a negative correlation with pH.Conclusions: Biochar amendment can increase SOC storage and offset the enhanced GWP mediated by elevated N deposition and is, thus, a potential strategy for increasing soil C sinks and decreasing GWPs of soil CHand NO under increasing atmospheric N deposition in Moso bamboo plantations.

Impact of Global Warming on Water Resource in Arid Area of Northwest China

As the unprecedented global warming is under way, the glacier retreat is getting more and more serious. In the inland arid area of Northwest China, due to very scarce precipitation, where there is water, there are oases. And the glacier melt water amounts to 22 % of the total direct supply of the inland river water and is of crucial importance to the survival and development of the oases. In this paper, using both the observed data and the previous research achievements of the glaciers in the inland valley of Northwest China where the oasis depending on the glacier is the only location suitable for human living, the authors describe the glacier retreat trend over the past half century, focusing on discussing the possible impact of the glacier retreat on the melt water runoff that is almost the only water resource efficient to nourish the oases. The authors find that even with increasing amount of water from the glacier with global warming, the water shortage is getting more and more serious and the environment is under a degrading way due to the accelerating economical development. The water shortage is bound to be more serious if the glacier retreat keeps on, especially after the glacier melt water is over its top for the degradedglacier scale. So suggestions are stressed in the end that a new water-saving pattern should be adopted in the area for a sustainable development due to the warming-up induced continuous glacier retreat.

Comparative Assessment of Tundra Vegetation Changes Between North and Southwest Slopes of Changbai Mountains, China, in Response to Global Warming

Vegetation in high altitude areas normally exhibits the strongest response to global warming. We investigated the tundra vegetation on the Changbai Mountains and revealed the similarities and differences between the north and the southwest slopes of the Changbai Mountains in response to global warming. Our results were as follows: 1) The average temperatures in the growing season have increased from 1981 to 2015, the climate tendency rate was 0.38℃/10 yr, and there was no obvious change in precipitation observed. 2) The tundra vegetation of the Changbai Mountains has changed significantly over the last 30 years. Specifically, herbaceous plants have invaded into the tundra zone, and the proportion of herbaceous plants was larger than that of shrubs. Shrub tundra was transforming into shrub-grass tundra. 3) The tundra vegetation in the north and southwest slopes of the Changbai Mountains responded differently to global warming. The southwest slope showed a significantly higher degree of invasion from herbaceous plants and exhibited greater vegetation change than the north slope. 4) The species diversity of plant communities on the tundra zone of the north slope changed unimodally with altitude, while that on the tundra zone of the southwest slope decreased monotonously with altitude. Differences in the degree of invasion from herbaceous plants resulted in differences in species diversity patterns between the north and southwest slopes. Differences in local microclimate, plant community successional stage and soil fertility resulted in differential responses of tundra vegetation to global warming.