Xiao-meng et al. (2025) Regional Changes in Precipitation Concentration, Seasonality and Intermittency in China

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: International Journal of Climatology
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-11-23
• Authors: Liu Xiao-meng, Xuezhi Tan, Xinxin Wu, Yaxin Liu, Dingkui Wang
• DOI: 10.1002/joc.70199

Research Groups

Not explicitly stated in the provided abstract.

Short Summary

This study assesses regional changes in precipitation concentration, seasonality, and intermittency across five climatic zones in mainland China from 1961 to 2020, linking these changes to large-scale atmospheric circulations. It reveals varying trends, including increased seasonality in some zones and reduced winter drought risk across all zones, providing insights for disaster mitigation.

Objective

• To assess regional changes in precipitation concentration using multiple indices (daily concentration index, monthly precipitation concentration index, seasonality index) and precipitation intermittency (burstiness and memory) across five climatic zones in mainland China from 1961 to 2020.
• To teleconnect the variability of precipitation concentration and intermittency to large-scale atmospheric circulations using correlation analysis and lagged regression models.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Five climatic zones in mainland China: temperate continental zone (TCZ), temperate monsoon zone (TMZ), subtropical monsoon zone (SMZ), tropical monsoon zone (MZ), and mountain plateau zone (MPZ).
• Temporal Scale: 60 years (1961 to 2020).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Correlation analysis, lagged regression models.
• Data sources: Not explicitly stated in the provided abstract (e.g., satellite, observation, reanalysis). Precipitation concentration was assessed using daily concentration index (CI), monthly precipitation concentration index (PCI), seasonality index (SI), and precipitation intermittency was represented by burstiness (B) and memory (M). Large-scale atmospheric circulation indices were used for teleconnection analysis (e.g., El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)).

Main Results

• Precipitation in the temperate monsoon zone (TMZ) and subtropical monsoon zone (SMZ) is more concentrated, with summer precipitation accounting for most of the annual total.
• The SMZ and temperate continental zone (TCZ) exhibit more even seasonal precipitation compared to other regions.
• The SMZ shows a significant increasing trend in summer precipitation and annual total precipitation, alongside decreasing trends in spring and autumn, indicating an increase in precipitation seasonality (increasing PCI).
• Increasing trends in winter precipitation are detected across all climatic zones, suggesting a reduced risk of winter drought in China.
• Most parts of the TMZ and SMZ are projected to experience an increase in the frequency of heavy rain events, with the upward trend of burstiness (B) exceeding 0.05%.
• Colder regions in the mountain plateau zone (MPZ) might experience more regular rainfall, indicated by a negative value of burstiness (B).
• Large-scale atmospheric circulations significantly influence precipitation patterns:
  • El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) have strong negative effects on precipitation patterns in the SMZ and tropical monsoon zone (MZ).
  • Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), and NAO mainly influence precipitation memory (M) in the TCZ.

Contributions

• Enhances the understanding of precipitation characteristics, particularly seasonality and intermittency, across the five distinct climatic zones of China, addressing a previously poorly understood area.
• Provides valuable information for mitigating disasters associated with extreme precipitation events.
• Quantifies regional changes in precipitation concentration and intermittency and links them to specific large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns.

Funding

Not explicitly stated in the provided abstract.

Citation

@article{Xiaomeng2025Regional,
  author = {Xiao-meng, Liu and Tan, Xuezhi and Wu, Xinxin and Liu, Yaxin and Wang, Dingkui},
  title = {Regional Changes in Precipitation Concentration, Seasonality and Intermittency in China},
  journal = {International Journal of Climatology},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1002/joc.70199},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.70199}
}