Changes in extreme precipitation in the Wei River Basin of China during 1957–2019 and potential driving factors

• Published in: Theoretical and applied climatology Vol. 149; no. 3-4; pp. 915 - 929
• Main Authors: Qiu, Dexun, Wu, Changxue, Mu, Xingmin, Zhao, Guangju, Gao, Peng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vienna Springer Vienna 01-08-2022; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Altitude; Analysis; Aquatic Pollution; Atlantic Oscillation; Atmospheric circulation; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Atmospheric Sciences; Climate science; Climatology; Disaster management; Disaster risk; Distribution; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Ecosystems; Emergency preparedness; Extreme weather; Geography; Interannual oscillation; Latitude; Longitude; Management; Oceans; Original Paper; Oscillations; Phase relationships; Precipitation; Precipitation variability; Resource management; Risk management; Risk reduction; River basins; Rivers; Southern Oscillation; Southern Oscillation Index; Spatial distribution; Temporal variability; Temporal variations; Trends; Waste Water Technology; Water; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Water resources; Water resources management
• ISSN: 0177-798X; 1434-4483
• DOI: 10.1007/s00704-022-04101-9

Extreme precipitation poses a severe threat to the natural ecosystem, socioeconomic development, and human life. Investigating the spatiotemporal variations in extreme precipitation and exploring the potential drivers have implications for disaster risk reduction and water resource management. In this study, we analyzed the changes in nine extreme precipitation indices (EPIs) over the Wei River Basin (WRB) during 1957–2019. Furthermore, we assessed the effect of geographic factors (latitude, longitude, and altitude) on the spatial distribution of EPIs and the potential impact of ocean–atmosphere circulation on the temporal variability of EPIs. The results indicate that six EPIs present a downward trend and three EPIs show an upward trend, but all the trends are not significant. In the seasonal scale, max 1-day precipitation amount (RX1day) increases significantly in summer (
P
 < 0.05), while the trends in max 5-day precipitation amount (RX5day) are not significant in all seasons. The period of about 8 years and less than 3 years were observed in most EPIs. The mean values of EPIs except consecutive dry days (CDD) gradually increase from northwest to southeast of the WRB. Latitude, longitude, and altitude are important factors affecting the spatial distribution of the extreme precipitation. Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) contribute the most to EPIs variation. Interdecadal and interannual oscillations occur between most EPIs and ocean-atmospheric circulation factors, but their phase relationships are different. Our findings highlight the importance of examining global and local driving factors of trend in regional extreme precipitation by a systematic approach, and help to further understand the precipitation changes in the WRB.