干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

Herein, we calculate an aridity index, D, based on annual precipitation, P, and measured evaporation, PET, from phi 20 evaporation pans: D = P/ PET. The data were collected between 1951 and 1999 at 295 meteorological stations operated by the Chinese Meteorological Administration. On the basis of the index, three climatic regions are recognized in China: an arid zone in which D <= 0.20, a semi-arid zone with 0.20 < D <= 0.50, and a humid zone in which D > 0.50. Temporal fluctuations of the climate boundaries are substantial, and differ significantly regionally, and have the shifting features in the same direction in some areas and in opposite directions in others over the past 50 years. The semi-arid zone lies along the border of the monsoon, and is thus highly susceptible to environmental change in China. In the period from the late 1960s to the early 1970s, the climate became drier in most parts of the regions of northern China. Moreover, the drought has an increasing trend. The fluctuations of climatic boundaries and the alternation from drier to wetter climate have substantial inter-decadal features. The main factors affecting the fluctuations in climate boundaries are the East Asian summer monsoon, the Indian Monsoon, the plateau monsoon in Tibetan Plateau, the westerly circulation, and the West Pacific Subtropical High. The different types of circulation and the strength of these circulations result in regional and temporal differences in aridity. Inter-decadal variations of the dry- and wet climate boundary fluctuations and of the arid and humid climate result from the inter-decadal changes of East Asian summer monsoon, Indian Monsoon, plateau monsoon, westerly circulation, and West Pacific Subtropical High. The anomalous general atmospheric circulation in the Northern Hemisphere during the late 1960s to the early 1970s is the cause of the remarkable change in arid and humid climate in China. Major natural disasters produced by arid and humid change are drought and flood disasters. They cause enormous economic losses to agriculture and industry. Furthermore, the loss has a substantial increasing trend. More than 110 cities are in severe water- deficiency conditions because of shortage of water resource in China. Drought has been a limiting factor of economic and social development in China.