Changes in Climate Extremes and Catastrophic Events in the Mongolian Plateau from 1951 to 2012

Abstract

The spatiotemporal changes in 21 indices of extreme temperature and precipitation for the Mongolian Plateau from 1951 to 2012 were investigated on the basis of daily temperature and precipitation data from 70 meteorological stations. Changes in catastrophic events, such as droughts, floods, and snowstorms, were also investigated for the same period. The correlations between catastrophic events and the extreme indices were examined. The results show that the Mongolian Plateau experienced an asymmetric warming trend. Both the cold extremes and warm extremes showed greater warming at night than in the daytime. The spatial changes in significant trends showed a good homogeneity and consistency in Inner Mongolia. Changes in the precipitation extremes were not as obvious as those in the temperature extremes. The spatial distributions in changes of precipitation extremes were complex. A decreasing trend was shown for total precipitation from west to east as based on the spatial distribution of decadal trends. Drought was the most serious extreme disaster, and prolonged drought for longer than 3 yr occurred about every 7-11 yr. An increasing trend in the disaster area was apparent for flood events from 1951 to 2012. A decreasing trend was observed for the maximum depth of snowfall from 1951 to 2012, with a decreased average maximum depth of 10 mm from the 1990s.

Footprints of Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation in the Low-Frequency Variation of Extreme High Temperature in the Northern Hemisphere

“…In addition, EHT in some areas shows a remarkable decadal to multidecadal variation. For instance, the warm days over the Mongolian Plateau shows prominent changes around the 1980s and 1990s (Wang et al 2016). Europe experienced anomalously strong EHT during the time periods 1936-49 and 1992(Della-Marta et al 2007).…”

Coupled dynamics of socioeconomic and environmental systems in Tibet

“…This was also evidenced by the changing ratios of LSK:R Labor ( figure 6). We speculate that this was partially influenced by the national and regional socioeconomic developments that provided more opportunities for herders to find off-pasture jobs after 2004 (Wang et al 2016b). For example, the urban private and individual enterprises in 2015 provided jobs for 480 000 throughout Tibet (Xizang Statistic Years 2016).…”

Dominant role of Atlantic multidecadal oscillation in the tipping point of maximum and minimum temperatures over inner East Asia

“…Specifically, Tmin has been increasing roughly twice as fast as Tmax since 1950 in most parts of the world (Vose et al ., 2005). Such asymmetric warming trends can also be seen over the Mongolian Plateau, where the cold and warm extremes presented more obvious warming at night than in the daytime (Wang et al ., 2016).…”