Open AccessUnderstanding the sensitivity of hourly precipitation extremes to the warming climate over Eastern China
Author(s) -
Danqing Huang,
Jieshun Zhu,
Xiucheng Xiao,
Jing Cheng,
Yuxuan Ding,
Qian Yi
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
environmental research communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2515-7620
DOI - 10.1088/2515-7620/ac17e1
Subject(s) - precipitation , scaling , environmental science , dew point , climatology , advection , atmospheric sciences , global warming , china , climate change , dew , meteorology , geography , geology , thermodynamics , mathematics , physics , oceanography , archaeology , geometry , condensation
Theoretically, under the warming climate, due to the increase of the atmospheric water vapor, the precipitation extremes would increase. The Clausius-Clapeyron (CC) scaling indicates an increase of precipitation extremes at a rate of about 7% globally. However, the response of precipitation extremes to global warming is complex globally. In this study, we investigated the hourly precipitation extremes-dew-point temperature scaling relation in eastern China and the theoretical explanation. It is shown here that the hourly precipitation extreme intensity increases with the dew-point temperature (DPT), following the CC scaling rate. Conversely, as DPT exceeds ∼22 °C, the negative scaling exists, particularly for the southern part of China. The change in the scaling direction as the DPT exceeds 22 °C may be attributed to the negative scaling of precipitation efficiency/vertical velocity with DPT. The increase in the convective inhibition and decrease in the temperature advection above ∼22 °C, partially explain the negative scaling of precipitation efficiency and vertical velocity with DPT. Our results may help understanding the variations in precipitation extremes under future warming.