Spatiotemporal Changes in Precipitation and Temperature in the Huaibei Plain and the Relation between Local Precipitation and Global Teleconnection Patterns

Abstract

The Huaibei Plain is one of the most severe water scarcity areas in China. Understanding of hydroclimatic variation in this area at different timescales and its relationship with global teleconnection patterns are important for assessment of water resources utilization. In this study, spatiotemporal changes of seasonal and annual precipitation and temperature, including trend, abrupt change, variability, and periodicity were examined to recognize the potential remarkable changes during the last 41 years. The relationship between precipitation in the Huaibei Plain and teleconnection patterns using climate indexes was revealed by applying singular value decomposition. Results showed a nonsignificant annual precipitation increase about 2.4 mm/year. The annual average temperature increased about 1.2°C during 1970–2010. The abrupt change of annual precipitation mainly occurred during the 1970s and 1980s, while the primary mutation points for temperature were detected in 1990s, especially in 1997. The mean areal precipitation is characterized by a statistically significant 2- to 4-year periodicity at different phases, and the 2- to 5-year band is the major cycle for annual average temperature in this region. A statistically strong 5- to 8-year periodicity for precipitation could be detected from the middle of the 1980s to the end of the 1990s. Precipitation has positive correlation with the West Pacific Pattern and El Nino Southern Oscillation. The investigated results might have considerable implications for managing water resources in the Huaibei Plain.