Compound Droughts and Heat Waves in China

Lei Ye, Ke Shi, Zhuohang Xin, Chao Wang and Chi Zhang
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Lei Ye: School of Hydraulic Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Ke Shi: School of Hydraulic Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Zhuohang Xin: School of Hydraulic Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Chao Wang: China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China
Chi Zhang: School of Hydraulic Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: Droughts and heat waves both are natural extreme climate events occurring in most parts of the world. To understand the spatio-temporal characteristics of droughts and heat waves in China, we examine changes in droughts, heat waves, and the compound of both during 1961–2017 based on high resolution gridded monthly sc_PDSI and daily temperature data. Results show that North China and Northwest China are the two regions that experience the most frequent droughts, while Central China is the least drought-affected region. Significant drought decreasing trends were mostly observed Qinghai, Xinjiang, and Tibet provinces, while the belt region between Yunnan and Heilongjiang provinces experienced significant drought increasing trends. Heat waves occur more frequently than droughts, and the increase of heat wave occurrence is also more obvious. The increasing of heat wave occurrence since the 2000s has been unprecedented. The compound droughts and heat waves were mild from the 1960s to 1980s, and began to increase in 1990s. Furthermore, the significant increasing trends of the percentage of compound droughts and heat waves to droughts are observed in entire China, and more than 90% drought occurrences are accompanied by one or more heat waves in the 2010s. The results highlight the increased percentage of compound droughts and heat waves and call for improved efforts on assessing the impact of compound extremes, especially in an era of changing climate.

Keywords: compound extremes; drought; heat wave; spatial distribution; temporal variation; trends (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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