Identifying Regional Prolonged Low Temperature Events in China

This study examined regional prolonged low temperature （PLT） events in China from the observational station data for the period 1960–2008 using the new criteria. The new definition of a site PLT event is that the daily minimum temperature does not exceed the 10th percentile threshold of the local daily minimum temperature climatology for at least 5 days at a station. The regional PLT event is defined as at least five adjacent stations exhibiting site PLT simultaneously for 5 d. Under the new definition, 552 regional PLT events were identified, and three indices： duration, extent, and intensity, as well as a comprehensive index （CI） were used to quantify the event severity. In addition, geographical patterns and temporal variations of regional PLT events were investigated using three event categories： strong, moderate, and weak. Spatially, strong events were mainly located in the north of Xinjiang and along the Yangtze River to the south of the Yangtze River; moderate events occurred in Xinjiang and south of the Yangtze River; and weak events occurred south of the Yellow River. The variation for the annual frequency of regional PLT events in China in the last 49 years showed a significant decreasing trend with a rate of-1.99 times per decade, and the significant transition decade was the 1980s.

Spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and attribution of extreme regional low temperature event

Based on an objective identification technique for regional low temperature event（OITRLTE）, the daily minimum temperature in China has been detected from 1960 to 2013. During this period, there were 60 regional extreme low temperature events（ERLTEs）, which are included in the 690 regional low temperature events（RLTEs）. The 60 ERLTEs are analyzed in this paper. The results show that in the last 50 years, the intensity of the ERLTEs has become weak; the number of lasted days has decreased; and, the affected area has become small. However, that situation has changed in this century.In terms of spatial distribution, the high intensity regions are mainly in Northern China while the high frequency regions concentrate in Central and Eastern China. According to the affected area of each event, the 60 ERLTEs are classified into six types. The atmospheric circulation background fields which correspond to these types are also analyzed. The results show that, influenced by stronger blocking highs of Ural and Lake Baikal, as well as stronger southward polar vortex and East Asia major trough at 500-h Pa geopotential height, cold air from high latitudes is guided to move southward and abnormal northerly winds at 850 h Pa makes the cold air blow into China along diverse paths, thereby forming different types of regional extreme low temperatures in winter.

The effect of living environment on developmental disorders in cold regions

Developmental disorders(DDs)are a kind of chronic maladies,which can cause serious irreversible detriment to children’s physical and mental health.It is predominantly regulated by the interaction of environment and heredity.Cold regions are mainly located in the high latitudes of China.Their living environment is characterized by frequent cold wave,huge temperature difference,severe air pollution,high calorie diet,less exercise,smoking,drinking,etc.In recent years,substantial advances have been made in studies of the correlation between the living environment features in cold regions and the DDs.Accordingly,this article reviews the impact of the peculiar living environment of cold regions on DDs,with a view to provide fresh prevention strategies for reducing the morbidity of DDs in China cold regions by ameliorating living environment.