A continuous decline of global seasonal wind speed range over land since 1980

Abstract

To investigate changes in global wind speed phenomena, we constructed homogenized monthly time series (1980-2018) for 4,722 meteorological stations. Through examining monthly-averaged wind speeds (MWS), we found that seasonal wind speed range (SWSR; calculated as the difference between maximum and minimum MWS) has declined significantly by 10% since 1980 (p < 0.001). This global SWSR reduction was primarily influenced by decreases in Europe (-19%), South America (-16%), Australia (-14%), and Asia (-13%), with corresponding rate reductions of -0.13, -0.08, -0.09 and -0.06 m s-1 decade-1, respectively (p < 0.01). In contrast, the SWSR in North America rose 3%. Important is that the decrease in SWSR occurred regardless of the stilling or reversal of annual wind speed. The shrinking SWSR in Australia and South America was characterized by continuous decreases in maximum MWS and increases in the minimum. For Europe and Asia, maximum and minimum MWS declined initially after 1980, followed by substantial increases in minimum MWS (about 2000 and 2012, respectively) that preserved the long-term reduction in the range. Most reanalysis products (ERA5, ERA-Interim, and MERRA-2) and climate model simulations (AMIP6 and CMIP6) fail to reproduce the observed trends. However, some ocean-atmosphere indices (seasonality characteristics) were correlated significantly with these trends, including West Hemisphere warm pool, East Atlantic Patten, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and others. These findings are important for increasing the understanding of mechanisms behind wind speed variations that influence a multitude of other biogeophysical processes and the development of efficient wind energy generations, now and in the future.

Assessing Climate Change Impacts on Wind Energy Resources over China Based on CMIP6 Multimodel Ensemble

“…Wind energy potential in winter under SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 shows an increasing trend in most areas for 2031–2060 (Figure S9e, f), while the opposite case occurs in summer (Figure S9h, i). Such distinct seasonal features may be attributed to the seasonal variations of monsoons and ocean currents. − Northern and western China stations, identified by K-means clustering, show a significant decreasing trend (see Text S5, Table S6, and Figure S10 for details). This suggests that wind energy resources in some parts of China may decrease and become more variable on an inter- and intra-annual basis due to climate change.…”

An assessment of observed wind speed and wind power density over China for 1980–2021

“…The annual and seasonal mean wind speed is at a low level globally recently, as many previous research have suggested. [18][19][20][21] In terms of wind speed variability, only Zhou et al 67 have noted that the seasonal wind speed range has decreased significantly globally since 1980, indicating a decline in wind speed variability. These findings suggest that in recent years, the global wind speed also has had a weak mean state and variability.…”

Stronger winds increase the sand-dust storm risk in northern China

“…The reason for recently observed changes in wind velocities in the last decade is still unknown, but they are potentially linked with large-scale synoptic climate forcing (e.g., ENSO, Arctic Oscillation, Pacic Decadal Oscillation, midlatitude westerlies) that may change on decadal time scales. 28,29 While rehabilitation will play a positive role in mitigating sand-dust storm generation by increasing vegetation ground cover in part of the source area, 14,17,18 rehabilitation efforts may require ne tuning to be most effective. Further investigation is needed regarding the co-location of areas experiencing wind speed changes and exceptionally dry conditions.…”