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Arid Land Geography ›› 2023, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (7): 1039-1051.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2022.511

• Climatology and Hydrology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Change characteristics of extreme precipitation events in Central Asia in recent 60 years based on RClimDex model

HUANG Xin1(),JIAO Li1,MA Xiaofei2,WANG Yonghui1(),Aerman ABULA1   

  1. 1. College of Geography and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University/Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Lake Environment and Resources in Arid Region, Urumqi 830054, Xinjiang, China
    2. State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences/Research Centre for Ecology and Environment of CA,Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2022-10-09 Revised:2022-12-29 Online:2023-07-25 Published:2023-08-03

Abstract:

In this study, based on the RClimDex model, we considered daily precipitation data from 126 meteorological stations in Central Asia from 1960 to 2020 to calculate eight extreme precipitation indices in Central Asia. We performed linear regression, Mann-Kendall, correlation, wavelet, and rescaled range analyses to investigate the characteristics of extreme precipitation events in Central Asia. The results revealed that: (1) The frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation events in Central Asia have increased considerably in the last 60 years. The climate trend of the simple precipitation intensity index (SDII) increased at an average of 0.02 mm·d−1·(10a)−1. The change tendency rates of extreme precipitation index heavy precipitation (R95p), maximum daily precipitation (Rx1day), maximum precipitation for five consecutive days (Rx5day), total annual precipitation (PRCPTOT)] were 1.93 mm·(10a)−1, 0.24 mm·(10a)−1, 0.66 mm·(10a)−1, and 0.73 mm·(10a)−1, respectively. The extreme precipitation days index [middle precipitation days (R10), continuous dry days (CDD), continuous wet days (CWD)] also exhibited a slight increase, with the exception of the number of CDD, which exhibited a decreasing trend. The change tendency rates were 0.02 d·(10a)−1, −0.65 d·(10a)−1, and 0.08 d·(10a)−1, respectively. Extreme precipitation exhibit obvious spatial variability and high altitude dependence and occur frequently near highlands and mountains. The extreme precipitation cycle in Central Asia is characterized by a multipeaked spectrum with short-period oscillations of approximately 5 years, medium-period oscillations of 6-9 years, and long-period oscillations of 10-15 years. (2) The extreme precipitation index exhibits an excellent correlation with the total annual precipitation, and CWD contributes most to the total annual precipitation. The Pacific interdecadal oscillation (PDO) and the North Atlantic interdecadal oscillation (AMO) exhibit significant positive correlation with extreme precipitation events. Both PDO and AMO are the primary climate system internal variability modes that affect abrupt changes in extreme precipitation in Central Asia. The results of the R/S analysis indicates that in the future, the indices of PRCPTOT R95p, Rx1day, Rx5day, SDII, and CWD are likely to continue to increase in the future with high persistence, whereas CDD is likely to continue to exhibit a decreasing trend with average persistence. This study can provide a scientific basis for the extreme climate prediction, natural environment protection, disaster prevention, and mitigation in Central Asia.

Key words: extreme precipitation, spatial distribution, correlation analysis, wavelet analysis, Central Asia