Brief communication: "Assessment of change in temperature and precipitation over Xinjiang, China"

Abstract

Climate changes seriously affect people's daily life. Temperature and precipitation have been the focus of many studies dealing with regional climate changes in recent decades. In this study, the climatic trends in Xinjiang, northwest of China during 1961-2008 are analysed in detail on the basis of several parameters: annual and seasonal mean precipitation, and annual mean, minimum, and maximum temperatures. The results show a significant increasing trend of 7.40 mm decade -1 in the annual mean precipitation and a relatively minimal upward trend of 1.45 mm decade -1 in winter in Xinjiang. The annual mean temperature increases significantly in Xinjiang with an increasing trend of 0.30 °C decade -1. There is an increasing trend of 0.25 °C decade -1 in the annual maximum temperature and an increasing trend of 0.52 °C decade -1 in the annual minimum temperature. © Author(s) 2012.