Changes of extreme precipitation in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and their correlation with atmospheric circulation

Abstract

Under the backdrop of climate change, the rising frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation events in the middle and lower Yangtze River (MLYR) region are causing serious consequences and economic losses. To assess regional risk and understand the impact of atmospheric circulation on extreme precipitation, it's crucial to analyze the spatial and temporal fluctuations of these events, focusing on the time-frequency phase relationship. Using the observed precipitation data from 1979 to 2015, nine extreme precipitation indices were calculated and a trend analysis and wavelet coherence analysis were performed to evaluate their variation. The results show that: 1) an overall increase in the frequency, intensity, and duration of precipitation in the MLYR, with significant rises in the wet daily precipitation and highest precipitation amount in 1-day period; 2) a higher likelihood of extreme precipitation events in the southeast of the MLYR, and an uneven spatial distribution; 3) the Western Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH), the South China Sea high (SCSH), and the East Asian westerly jet (EAJ) all play a role in precipitation changes in the MLYR, with the WPSH having the most significant impact, followed by the SCSH, and the EAJ being weaker. The results deepen our understanding of the various characteristics and causes of extreme precipitation in the MLYR.

Rainstorm variability is mainly influenced by the southwest monsoon in the Hanjiang River basin of China during 1985–2020

“…Besides the monsoon, we have identified that the PDO (r = −0.472, p < 0.01) and SOI (r = 0.459, p < 0.01) are the major factors that significantly influence the variability in daily rainstorm frequency in the HJB. This finding aligns with existing studies in the Yangtze River basin (Wang et al, 2022;Xiao et al, 2015;Yang et al, 2023). Some studies have already highlighted that the ENSO and PDO are two of the most influential climatic phenomena, with dominant impacts on extreme precipitation changes in various regions over the world (Wei et al, 2021).…”

“…In addition to the monsoons, rainstorm variation is also affected by many other natural factors. Referring to the literature (Kong et al, 2017;Yang et al, 2023), a total of 14 circulation factors that closely affected the rainstorms are selected for correspondence, as shown in Table 2.…”

Evaluation of GPM IMERG Early, Late, and Final Run in Precipitation Estimation and their Capability in Representing Extreme Rainfall Indices in Southwestern Iran

“…As a result, monitoring precipitation is critical for understanding its impact on society and for disaster planning and mitigation [1,2]. Climate change has been impacting precipitation regimes, leading to changes in the frequency, duration, and/or intensity of precipitation events [3][4][5][6][7]. Rising planetary temperatures increase the atmosphere's capacity to hold water (≈7% per 1°C), which can result in greater precipitation intensity [8].…”

Factors Affecting the Spatiotemporal Variation of Precipitation in the Songhua River Basin of China

“…They also observed that heavy rainfall days exhibited a decrease before 2013, and the decreasing trend was alleviated after 2013. Given the spatiotemporal variability of mean and extreme precipitation climatology, several studies have analyzed the reasons for the observed differences [21][22][23][24][25], including geographical factors [26][27][28][29], global warming [30][31][32], circulation factors [11,[33][34][35][36], and urbanization [37,38].…”