Impact of global warming on drought in China

作     者：Xian Xue Tao Wang Jian Guo YuanHe Yang Fei Peng LiChao Liu 

作者机构：Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification CoM and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute Chinese Academy of Sciences Lanzhou Gansu 730000 China Department of Botany and Microbiology University of Oklahoma Norman OK 73019 USA 

出 版 物：《Research in Cold and Arid Regions》 (寒旱区科学（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2012年第4卷第3期

页      面：201-210页

学科分类：082802[工学-农业水土工程] 090707[农学-水土保持与荒漠化防治] 0907[农学-林学] 07[理学] 070601[理学-气象学] 08[工学] 0828[工学-农业工程] 09[农学] 0815[工学-水利工程] 0706[理学-大气科学] 

基　　金：supported by"Hundred Talents Program" of CAS National Key Research Program of Chinese (2009CB421308) 

主　　题：global warming temporal difference vapor deficit evapotranspiration drought China 

摘      要：Spatial and temporal change pattems of air temperature （7）, precipitation （P）, relative humidity （RH）, lower vapor pressure （VP）, potential evapotranspiration （PET） and drought situation of 690 meteorological stations for all of China were evaluated in this study to understand the effects of warming on regional drought and hydrological processes. Here, the drought extent is expressed by aridity index （AI）, which is the ratio of precipitation and reference crop evapotranspiration （ETo） calculated by FAO Pen- man-Monteith equation, taking into account air temperature, atmospheric humidity, solar radiation, and wind. Our results indicate that there are different patterns of climate change from 1961 to 2008 and from 1981 to 2008. Little precipitation change occurred in China and ETo decreased from 1961 to 2008. But, the warming trend has intensified and the area with significant increasing precipitation has reduced since the early 1980＇s and ETo has increased in most areas of China from 1981 to 2008 and decreased from 1961 to 2008. The areas affected by drought have shifted from North China and Northeast China to East China and South China since 1981. It is speculated that the increasing warming intensity after 1981 possibly strengthened the power of potential evapotmnspiration and resulted in drought in most areas of Northeast China, North China, eastem Southwest China, and especially in East China and South China.