Temporal variability of seasonal warming rates in China

Abstract

Calculation of the warming rate is the key to addressing the current debate about the existence of a recent hiatus in global warming. Previous studies have calculated the warming rate based on either a long period or selected periods. We calculated the warming rate in the seasonal temperatures obtained from 2,479 weather stations across China. We identified all the trend change years and divided the period 1958-2017 into different sub-periods based on these years. Our results showed that the warming rate is higher than 0.5 C per decade in numerous stations. The amount of seasonal warming over the past 60 years was highest in winter, followed by spring, then autumn and was lowest in summer. Northern China has shown stronger warming than southern China over the past 60 years. Our results quantified the short-period rates and identified natural change points which allows a sound comparison across regions. As rapid warming has a strong influence on natural systems and human health, extra care should be taken in regions with a high rate of warming.

Disentangling physical and dynamical drivers of the 2016/17 record-breaking warm winter in China

“…China has experienced an accelerated warming during the most recent decade, particularly in boreal winter (Li et al 2015, Qian and Zhang 2019, Xu et al 2020 (figure 1(a)). The most eye-catching warming occurred in the winter of 2016/17, with the surface temperature anomalies reaching the highest among recent years and seasons (figure 1(a)).…”

Divergent response of Pinus pumila growth to climate warming at different latitudes and in different simulation predictions

“…The weakening of temperature seasonality in the Northern Hemisphere due to anthropogenic forcing, as well as future human impacts, may further weaken the annual temperature cycle, thereby affecting biological and ecological systems, especially at high latitudes (50 • -70 • N) (Rosenzweig et al, 2008;Qian and Zhang, 2015;Duan et al, 2017). The degree of warming in northern China over the past 60 years has exceeded that of southern China (Xu et al, 2021). Seasonal warming during the 1958-2017 period was highest in winter Correlation between shrub ring-width index and summer temperature (A), winter temperature (B), summer precipitation (C), and winter precipitation (D) in 1950-1980 and 1981-2014. and lowest in summer (Xu et al, 2021).…”

“…The degree of warming in northern China over the past 60 years has exceeded that of southern China (Xu et al, 2021). Seasonal warming during the 1958-2017 period was highest in winter Correlation between shrub ring-width index and summer temperature (A), winter temperature (B), summer precipitation (C), and winter precipitation (D) in 1950-1980 and 1981-2014. and lowest in summer (Xu et al, 2021). Winter warming has exceeded summer warming since the end of 19th century, and the magnitude of the annual temperature cycle has decreased by 0.45 • C/100 a (Duan et al, 2017).…”