Observed Changes in Temperature and Precipitation Extremes Over the Yarlung Tsangpo River Basin during 1970–2017
1
Asian International Rivers Center, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
2
Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Atmosphere 2019, 10(12), 815; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10120815
Received: 13 November 2019 / Revised: 5 December 2019 / Accepted: 12 December 2019 / Published: 15 December 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climates of the Himalayas: Present, Past and Future)
Twenty-five climate indices based on daily maximum and minimum temperature and precipitation at 15 meteorological stations were examined to investigate changes in temperature and precipitation extremes over the Yarlung Tsangpo River Basin (1970–2017). The trend-free prewhitening (TFPW) Mann–Kendall test and Pettitt’s test were used to identify trends and abrupt changes in the time series, respectively. The results showed widespread significant changes in extreme temperature indices associated with warming, most of which experienced abrupt changes in the 1990s. Increases in daily minimum and maximum temperature were detected, and the magnitude of daily minimum temperature change was greater than that of the daily maximum temperature, revealing an obvious decrease in the diurnal temperature range. Warm days and nights became more frequent, whereas fewer cold days and nights occurred. The frequency of frost and icing days decreased, while summer days and growing season length increased. Moreover, cold spell length shortened, whereas warm spell length increased. Additionally, changes in the precipitation extreme indices exhibited much less spatial coherence than the temperature indices. Spatially, mixed patterns of stations with positive and negative trends were found, and few trends in the precipitation extreme indices at individual stations were statistically significant. Generally, precipitation extreme indices showed a tendency toward wetter conditions, and the contribution of extreme precipitation to total precipitation has increased. However, no significant regional trends and abrupt changes were detected in total precipitation or in the frequency and duration of precipitation extremes.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Liu, C.; Li, Y.; Ji, X.; Luo, X.; Zhu, M. Observed Changes in Temperature and Precipitation Extremes Over the Yarlung Tsangpo River Basin during 1970–2017. Atmosphere 2019, 10, 815. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10120815
AMA Style
Liu C, Li Y, Ji X, Luo X, Zhu M. Observed Changes in Temperature and Precipitation Extremes Over the Yarlung Tsangpo River Basin during 1970–2017. Atmosphere. 2019; 10(12):815. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10120815
Chicago/Turabian StyleLiu, Chunyu; Li, Yungang; Ji, Xuan; Luo, Xian; Zhu, Mengtao. 2019. "Observed Changes in Temperature and Precipitation Extremes Over the Yarlung Tsangpo River Basin during 1970–2017" Atmosphere 10, no. 12: 815. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10120815
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