Increased spatial extent and likelihood of compound long-duration dry and hot events in China, 1961-2014

Abstract

Compound dry and hot events can cause aggregated damage compared with isolated hazards. Although increasing attention has been paid to compound dry and hot events, the persistence of such hazards is rarely investigated. Moreover, little attention has been paid to the simultaneous evolution process of such hazards in space and time. Based on observations during 1961-2014, the spatiotemporal characteristics of compound long-duration dry and hot (LDDH) events in China during the summer season are investigated on both a grid basis and a 3D event basis. Grid-scale LDDH events mainly occur in eastern China, especially over northeastern areas. Most regions have experienced a pronounced increase in the likelihood of LDDH events, which is dominated by increasing temperatures. From a 3D perspective, 146 spatiotemporal LDDH (SLDDH) events are detected and grouped into 9 spatial patterns. Over time, there is a significant increase in the frequency and spatial extent of SLDDH events. Consistent with the grid-scale LDDH events, hotspots of SLDDH events mainly occur in northern China, such as the Northeast China, North China and Qinghai clusters, which are accompanied by a high occurrence frequency and large affected areas greater than 300 000 km2.