Projected changes in mild weather frequency over China under a warmer climate
Previous studies have largely focussed on changes in mean climate state and climate extremes under a warmer climate, and little is known about changes in mild weather, which is a positive and pleasant condition and is highly related to human outdoor activities. Although changes in observed mild weat...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2022-01-01
|
| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac9c70 |
| _version_ | 1797747346465882112 |
|---|---|
| author | Jintao Zhang Qinglong You Guoyu Ren Safi Ullah |
| author_facet | Jintao Zhang Qinglong You Guoyu Ren Safi Ullah |
| author_sort | Jintao Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Previous studies have largely focussed on changes in mean climate state and climate extremes under a warmer climate, and little is known about changes in mild weather, which is a positive and pleasant condition and is highly related to human outdoor activities. Although changes in observed mild weather frequency over China, and their drivers, have been revealed, the understanding of how mild weather evolves with projected warming is still limited. Here, we examine future changes in mild weather frequency over China based on comprehensive thermal comfort indices, and dynamically downscaled climate projections produced by the Regional Climate Model version 4 within the framework of the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment—Coordinated Output for Regional Evaluations. We demonstrate that changes in mild weather frequency in a warmer future exhibit remarkable regional discrepancy. In particular, densely populated southeastern China will experience a robust decrease in mild weather relative to the current level, although a general increasing trend is observed in this area over recent decades. On a seasonal scale, the decrease in mild weather in summer overwhelms the increase in spring and autumn, and this is more prominent in warmer regions. Regarding the drivers, it is suggested that changes in mild weather frequency are dominated by elevated temperatures, with little contribution from relative humidity, wind speed, and sunshine duration. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:49:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f594b890da9a47c99df24cb5d703195c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:49:27Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-f594b890da9a47c99df24cb5d703195c2023-08-09T15:18:08ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262022-01-01171111404210.1088/1748-9326/ac9c70Projected changes in mild weather frequency over China under a warmer climateJintao Zhang0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4582-6266Qinglong You1Guoyu Ren2Safi Ullah3Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Fudan University , Shanghai 200438, People’s Republic of China; Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, China Meteorological Administration , Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of ChinaDepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Fudan University , Shanghai 200438, People’s Republic of China; Innovation Center of Ocean and Atmosphere System, Zhuhai Fudan Innovation Research Institute , Zhuhai 518057, People’s Republic of ChinaNational Climate Center, China Meteorological Administration , Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China; Department of Atmospheric Science, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences , Wuhan 430074, People’s Republic of ChinaDepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Fudan University , Shanghai 200438, People’s Republic of ChinaPrevious studies have largely focussed on changes in mean climate state and climate extremes under a warmer climate, and little is known about changes in mild weather, which is a positive and pleasant condition and is highly related to human outdoor activities. Although changes in observed mild weather frequency over China, and their drivers, have been revealed, the understanding of how mild weather evolves with projected warming is still limited. Here, we examine future changes in mild weather frequency over China based on comprehensive thermal comfort indices, and dynamically downscaled climate projections produced by the Regional Climate Model version 4 within the framework of the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment—Coordinated Output for Regional Evaluations. We demonstrate that changes in mild weather frequency in a warmer future exhibit remarkable regional discrepancy. In particular, densely populated southeastern China will experience a robust decrease in mild weather relative to the current level, although a general increasing trend is observed in this area over recent decades. On a seasonal scale, the decrease in mild weather in summer overwhelms the increase in spring and autumn, and this is more prominent in warmer regions. Regarding the drivers, it is suggested that changes in mild weather frequency are dominated by elevated temperatures, with little contribution from relative humidity, wind speed, and sunshine duration.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac9c70mild weatherthermal comfortCORDEXclimate changeChina |
| spellingShingle | Jintao Zhang Qinglong You Guoyu Ren Safi Ullah Projected changes in mild weather frequency over China under a warmer climate Environmental Research Letters mild weather thermal comfort CORDEX climate change China |
| title | Projected changes in mild weather frequency over China under a warmer climate |
| title_full | Projected changes in mild weather frequency over China under a warmer climate |
| title_fullStr | Projected changes in mild weather frequency over China under a warmer climate |
| title_full_unstemmed | Projected changes in mild weather frequency over China under a warmer climate |
| title_short | Projected changes in mild weather frequency over China under a warmer climate |
| title_sort | projected changes in mild weather frequency over china under a warmer climate |
| topic | mild weather thermal comfort CORDEX climate change China |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac9c70 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jintaozhang projectedchangesinmildweatherfrequencyoverchinaunderawarmerclimate AT qinglongyou projectedchangesinmildweatherfrequencyoverchinaunderawarmerclimate AT guoyuren projectedchangesinmildweatherfrequencyoverchinaunderawarmerclimate AT safiullah projectedchangesinmildweatherfrequencyoverchinaunderawarmerclimate |