We examined the spatiotemporal variation in diurnal temperature range (DTR) and discussed the reasons for the changes of DTR in China based on data from 479 weather stations from 1962 to 2011. Results showed that DTR decreased rapidly (0.291°C/decade) from 1962 to 1989 due to slightly decreased T max and significantly increased T min , but the decrease in DTR has stopped since 1990 as T max and T min kept pace with each other. During 1990-2011, DTR remained trendless, with slight increase in the 1990s and slight decrease after 2000. During the whole study period from 1962 to 2011, DTR decreased at a rate of 0.157°C/decade nationally. Spatially, decreases in DTR were greatest in Northeast China and lowest in Southwest China with a transect running from northeast to southwest showing the decreasing trends change from high to low. Seasonally, DTR decreases were greatest in winter and lowest in summer, and the magnitudes of decrease reduced from the north to south of China. The changes in DTR were closely correlated with changes in sunshine duration (SD) in China except the Tibetan Plateau, suggesting that SD decrease is an important contributor to the decrease of DTR through its influence on T max . In addition to the contribution of SD decrease, the increasing of precipitation played an important role in DTR decrease in Northwest China, the most arid region of China. It appeared that changes of cloud cover (CC) were not the reasons for DTR changes in the past 50 years as CC has decreased during the study period.

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At present, humidity sensors have promising prospects in disease monitoring, family life, environmental protection, and so on. Flexible humidity sensor is more and more popular because of its flexibility and portability. In our work, a flexible humidity sensor based on a tin disulfide (SnS) nanoflower and a zinc stannate (ZnSnO) hollow sphere film was fabricated though layer-by-layer self-assembly technique. The humidity performance showed that the SnS/ZnSnO hybrid film sensor was ultrasensitive to humidity at room temperature. The test results demonstrated superior response, fast response/recovery behavior, and excellent repeatability. Moreover, compared to the single SnS and single ZnSnO nanomaterials, the SnS/ZnSnO hybrid film sensor exhibited great improvement in humidity sensing. In addition, complex impedance spectroscopy was adopted to further explore the sensing mechanisms of the SnS/ZnSnO hybrid to various humidities. Human respiration, palm sweat, urine, and water droplets were delicately detected by the SnS/ZnSnO humidity sensor, indicating its great potential in multifarious application fields.

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Extreme precipitation often persists for multiple days with variable duration but has usually been examined at fixed duration. Here we show that considering extreme persistent precipitation by complete event with variable duration, rather than a fixed temporal period, is a necessary metric to account for the complexity of changing precipitation. Observed global mean annual‐maximum precipitation is significantly stronger (49.5%) for persistent extremes than daily extremes. However, both globally observed and modeled rates of relative increases are lower for persistent extremes compared to daily extremes, especially for Southern Hemisphere and large regions in the 0‐45°N latitude band. Climate models also show significant differences in the magnitude and partly even the sign of local mean changes between daily and persistent extremes in global warming projections. Changes in extreme precipitation therefore are more complex than previously reported, and extreme precipitation events with varying duration should be taken into account for future climate change assessments.