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Temporal and spatial evolution characteristics of the 30-60 day oscillation (intraseasonal oscillation, ISO) of summer rainfall in China and the effects of East Asian monsoon on the rainfall ISO are analyzed in this paper. Results show that the annual and decadal variations of the oscillation exist between 1960 and 2008, and the intensity is weakest in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In the typical strong years of the rainfall ISO obtained from empirical orthogonal functions (EOF mode 1), an anticyclone is in northwestern Pacific and a cyclone is in the east of China. In the typical weak years, the wind ISO is much weaker. The low-frequency zonal wind and water vapor transport from the low latitudes to mid-latitudes in the typical strong years, and the oscillation strength of diabatic heating is much stronger than that in the weak years of the rainfall ISO. The anomaly characteristics of the rainfall ISO show anti-phases between the Yangtze River basin and south of China. As for the typical strong years of the rainfall ISO in the Yangtze River basin (EOF mode 2), the main oscillation center of water vapor is in the east of China (20-30°N, 110-130°E). In the peak (break) phase of the rainfall oscillation, a low-frequency cyclone (anticyclone) is in the Yangtze River basin and an anticyclone (cyclone) is near Taiwan Island. In addition, the peak rainfall corresponds to the heat source in the Yangtze River basin and the heat sink in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. As for the typical strong years of the rainfall ISO in the south of China, the main oscillation center of water vapor is south of 20°N. In the peak (break) phase of the rainfall ISO, a low-frequency cyclone (anticyclone) is in the south of China and an anticyclone (cyclone) is in the Philippines. The peak rainfall corresponds to the heat source in the south of China and the South China Sea, and the heat sink in the west of Indochina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial and temporal characteristics of precipitation trends in the Zhujiang River basin, South China, are analyzed. Nonparametric trend tests are applied to daily precipitation data from 192 weather stations between 1961 and 2007 for the following indices: annual, monthly, and daily precipitation; annual and monthly number of rain days and precipitation intensity; annual and monthly maximum precipitation; 5-day maximum precipitation, number of rainstorms with >50 mm day−−1, and peaks over thresholds (90th, 95th, and 99th percentile). The results show that few stations experienced trends in the precipitation indices on an annual basis. On a monthly basis, significant positive and negative trends above the 90%% confidence level appear in all months except December. Trends in the indices of monthly precipitation, rain intensity, rain days, and monthly maximum precipitation show very similar characteristics. They experience the most distinct negative (positive) trends in October (January). A change of the mean wind direction by 50°° from east-southeast to east-northeast explains the downward trend in precipitation in October. Dry October months (months with low precipitation indices) can be observed when the mean wind direction is east-northeast (arid) instead of the prevailing mean wind direction, east-southeast (moist). The former is typical for the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM). Nearly 90%% of the driest October months can be explained by wind directions typical for the EAWM. The upward trend in precipitation indices in January cannot be explained by changes in large-scale circulation. The analysis of the precipitation indices delivers more detailed information on observed changes than other studies in the same area. This can be attributed to the higher station density, the quality of daily data, and the focus on monthly trends in the current study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]