Climatic Warming and Humidification in the Arid Region of Northwest China: Multi-Scale Characteristics and Impacts on Ecological Vegetation

The climatic warming and humidification observed in the arid region of Northwest China(ARNC) and their impacts on the ecological environment have become an issue of concern. The associated multi-scale characteristics and environmental responses are currently poorly understood. Using data from satellite remote sensing, field observations, and the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6, this paper systematically analyzes the process and scale characteristics of the climatic warming and humidification in the ARNC and their impacts on ecological vegetation. The results show that not only have temperature and precipitation increased significantly in the ARNC over the past 60 years, but the increasing trend of precipitation is also obviously intensifying. The dryness index, which comprehensively considers the effects of precipitation and temperature, has clearly decreased, and the trend in humidification has increased. Spatially, the trend of temperature increase has occurred over the entire region, while 93.4% of the region has experienced an increase in precipitation, suggesting a spatially consistent climatic warming and humidification throughout the ARNC. Long-term trends and interannual changes in temperature and precipitation dominate the changes in climatic warming and humidification. Compared to interannual variations in temperature, the trend change of temperature contributes more to the overall temperature change. However, the contribution of interannual variations in precipitation is greater than that of the precipitation trend to the overall precipitation change. The current climatic warming and humidification generally promote the growth of ecological vegetation. Since the 1980 s,82.4% of the regional vegetation has thrived. The vegetation index has a significant positive correlation with precipitation and temperature. However, it responds more significantly to interannual precipitation variation, although the vegetation response varies significantly under different types of land use. The warming and humidification of the climate in the ARNC are probably related to intensifications of the westerly wind circulation and ascending air motions.They are expected to continue in the future, although the strength of the changes will probably be insufficient to significantly change the basic climate pattern in the ARNC. The results of this study provide helpful information for decision making related to China's "Belt and Road" development strategies.

Causes and Changes of Drought in China:Research Progress and Prospects

Drought is one of the most serious and extensive natural hazards in the world.Subject to monsoon climate variability,China is particularly influenced by drought hazards,especially meteorological drought.Based on a comprehensive understanding of the current status of international drought research,this paper systematically reviews the history and achievements of drought research in China since the founding of the People’s Republic of China,from four main perspectives:characteristics and spatiotemporal distribution of historical and recent drought events,drought formation mechanism and change trend,drought hazard risk,and the particular flash drought.The progress and problems of drought research in China are analyzed and future prospects are proposed,with emphasis on the multi-factor synergetic effect for drought formation;the effect of land-atmosphere interaction;identification,monitoring,and prediction of flash drought;categorization of drought and characteristics among various types of drought;the agricultural drought development;drought response to climate warming;and assessment of drought hazard risks.It is suggested that strengthening scientific experimental research on drought in China is imperative.The present review is conducive to strategic planning of drought research and application,and may facilitate further development of drought research in China.

Effects of Updated RegCM4 Land Use Data on Near-Surface Temperature Simulation in China

Biogeophysical effects of land use and land cover （LULC） changes play a significant role in modulating climate on various spatial scales. In this study, a set of recent LULC products with a spatial resolution of 500 m was developed in China for update in RegCM4 （regional climate model version 4）. Two sets of comparative numerical experiments were conducted to study the effects of LULC changes on near-surface temperature simulation. The results show that after LULC changes, areas of crops and mixed woodlands as well as urban areas increase over entire China, accom- panied with greatly expanded mixed farming and forests/field mosaics in southern China, and reduced areas of 1） ir- rigated crops and short grasses in northern China and the Tibetan Plateau, and 2） semi-desert and desert in northwest-em China. Improvements in the LULC data clearly result in more accurate simulations of the near-surface temperat-ure. Specifically, increasing latent heat and longwave albedo due to enhanced LULC in certain areas lead to reduc-tion in land surface temperature （LST）, while changes in shortwave albedo and sensible heat also exert a great influ- ence on the LST. Overall, these parameter adjustments reduce the biases in near-surface temperature simulation.