Lead-Lag Connection of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) with East Asian Surface Air Temperatures in Instrumental Records

The authors analyzed the lead-lag connection of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) with East Asian surface air temperatures (EATs) using instrumental records, and compared the results with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). The maximum correlation was found when EATs led the AMO by five to seven years (with a correlation coefficient of 0.72, whereas the correlation coefficient was 0.91 when the AMO led EATs by 24-28 years). This is different from the PDO, which mostly correlated with EATs when the PDO led EATs by 13-15 years (with a correlation coefficient of 0.67, whereas the correlation coefficient was 0.76 when EATs led the PDO by 24-26 years). The PDO led the AMO by 19-21 years (with a correlation coefficient of 0.71, whereas the correlation coefficient was 0.84 when the AMO led the PDO by 16-18 years). These results support a previous understanding that EATs positively correlate with the AMO, and imply that the observed East Asian warming trend may have been slowing down since the early 2010s.

Recent Progress in Studies of Climate Change in China

An overview of basic research on climate change in recent years in China is presented. In the past 100 years in China, average annual mean surface air temperature （SAT） has increased at a rate ranging from 0.03℃ （10 yr）-1 to 0.12℃ （10 yr）-1. This warming is more evident in northern China and is more significant in winter and spring. In the past 50 years in China, at least 27% of the average annual warming has been caused by urbanization. Overall, no significant trends have been detected in annual and/or summer precipitation in China on a whole for the past 100 years or 50 years. Both increases and decreases in frequencies of major extreme climate events have been observed for the past 50 years. The frequencies of extreme temperature events have generally displayed a consistent pattern of change across the country, while the frequencies of extreme precipitation events have shown only regionally and seasonally significant trends. The frequency of tropical cyclone landfall decreased slightly, but the frequency of sand/dust storms decreased significantly. Proxy records indicate that the annual mean SAT in the past a few decades is the highest in the past 400-500 years in China, but it may not have exceeded the highest level of the Medieval Warm Period （1000 1300 AD）. Proxy records also indicate that droughts and floods in eastern China have been characterized by continuously abnormal rainfall periods, with the frequencies of extreme droughts and floods in the 20th century most likely being near the average levels of the past 2000 years. The attribution studies suggest that increasing greenhouse gas （GHG） concentrations in the atmosphere are likely to be a main factor for the observed surface warming nationwide. The Yangtze River and Huaihe River basins underwent a cooling trend in summer over the past 50 years, which might have been caused by increased aerosol concentrations and cloud cover. However, natural climate variability might have been a main driver for the mean and extreme precipitation variations observed over the past century. Climate models generally perform well in simulating the variations of annual mean SAT in China. They have also been used to project future changes in SAT under varied GHG emission scenarios. Large uncertainties have remained in these model-based projections, however, especially for the projected trends of regional precipitation and extreme climate events.

The first meteorological observations at a tropical high elevation site:Antisana,1846

Antisana is a stratovolcano with an associated glacier located in the Ecuadorian Andes. Dr Aguirre made meteorological readings every day, at every hour from sunrise to sunset, from December 1845 to December 1846, at Antisana using a meteorological station at 4060 mamsl （meters above mean sea level）. Unfortunately, only the monthly average data have been preserved. These meteorological data are here studied and compared with the closest modern stations for monthly values of temperature, rainfall, and pressure. According to these comparisons, the year 1846 was rainy and cold in comparison with the current climate. Moreover, these observations have been useful to help resolve a debate about a possible E1Nifio event in 1846 with the high precipitation in Antisana and Quito in 1846 discarding the occurrence of an E1 Nifio event. The probable occurrence of a La Nifia event is discussed. These data are the earliest known systematic instrumental meteorological observations taken at above 4000 mamsl.

A RECORD OF TASHI TSERING’S ARTISTIC LIFE

On December 30th of 2016,the temperature in Lhasa is almost at a record low.Around half past eleven,the 78-year-old Tashi Tsering is sitting cross-legged on his bed.Upon finishing his daily scriptural recitation,he picks up a cup of sweet tea placed on the tea table in front of him and takes a swallow before putting on his shoes and saying to his wife,Nyima,"I am going out to see them,so please don’t wait around for me at lunchtime."