Influence of the NAO on Wintertime Surface Air Temperature over East Asia:Multidecadal Variability and Decadal Prediction

In this paper,we investigate the influence of the winter NAO on the multidecadal variability of winter East Asian surface air temperature(EASAT)and EASAT decadal prediction.The observational analysis shows that the winter EASAT and East Asian minimum SAT(EAmSAT)display strong in-phase fluctuations and a significant 60-80-year multidecadal variability,apart from a long-term warming trend.The winter EASAT experienced a decreasing trend in the last two decades,which is consistent with the occurrence of extremely cold events in East Asia winters in recent years.The winter NAO leads the detrended winter EASAT by 12-18 years with the greatest significant positive correlation at the lead time of 15 years.Further analysis shows that ENSO may affect winter EASAT interannual variability,but does not affect the robust lead relationship between the winter NAO and EASAT.We present the coupled oceanic-atmospheric bridge(COAB)mechanism of the NAO influences on winter EASAT multidecadal variability through its accumulated delayed effect of~15 years on the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation(AMO)and Africa-Asia multidecadal teleconnection(AAMT)pattern.An NAO-based linear model for predicting winter decadal EASAT is constructed on the principle of the COAB mechanism,with good hindcast performance.The winter EASAT for 2020-34 is predicted to keep on fluctuating downward until~2025,implying a high probability of occurrence of extremely cold events in coming winters in East Asia,followed by a sudden turn towards sharp warming.The predicted 2020/21 winter EASAT is almost the same as the 2019/20 winter.

Evaluation of six gauge-based gridded climate products for analyzing long-term historical precipitation patterns across the Lancang-Mekong River Basin

Freshwater plays a vital role in global sustainability by improving human lives and protecting nature.In the Lancang-Mekong River Basin(LMRB),sustainable development is principally dependent upon precipitation that predominantly controls freshwater resources availability required for both life and livelihood of~70 million people.Hence,this study comprehensively analyzed long-term historical precipitation patterns(in terms of trends,variability,and links to climate teleconnections)throughout the LMRB as well as its upper(Lancang River Basin,LRB)and lower(Mekong River Basin,MRB)parts employing six gauge-based gridded climate products:Asian Precipitation Highly-Resolved Observational Data Integration Towards Evaluation of Water Resources(APHRODITE),Climate Prediction Center(CPC),Climate Research Unit(CRU),Global Precipitation Climatology Center(GPCC),Precipitation Reconstruction over Land(PRECL),and University of Delaware(UDEL).Accordingly,annual and seasonal(dry and wet)precipitation time series were calculated for three study periods:century-long outlook(1901-2010),mid-past(1951-2010),and recent decades(1981-2010).However,the role of climate teleconnections in precipitation variability over the LMRB was only identified during their available temporal coverages:mid-past and recent decades.The results generally showed that:(i)both annual and seasonal precipitation increased across all three basins in 1981-2010;(ii)wet and dry seasons got drier and wetter,respectively,in all basins in 1951-2010;(iii)all such changes were fundamentally attributed to increases in precipitation variability on both annual and seasonal scales over time;(iv)these variations were most strongly associated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation(PDO),Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation(AMO)and East Pacific/North Pacific(EP/NP)pattern in the LMRB and the MRB during 1951-2010,but with the North Sea-Caspian Pattern(NCP)and the Southern Annular Mode(SAM)in the LRB;(v)such relationships got stronger in 1981-2010,while the Southern Oscillation Index(SOI)became the most influential teleconnection for dry season precipitation variability across all basins;and(vi)GPCC(APHRODITE)provided the most reliable gauge-based gridded precipitation time series over the LMRB for the years before(after)1951.These findings lay a foundation for further studies focusing on water resources and sustainable development in the LMRB.