Identification and characteristics analysis of Meiyu in Anhui Province based on the National Standard of Meiyu monitoring indices

Abstract

Meiyu is the term used to depict the consecutive rainy weather advancing in the months before the flooding season in East Asia. However, the temporal-spatial climatic characteristics of Meiyu can be differently specified by different evaluation criteria. In this study, we employ both the atmospheric circulation conditions and meteorological factors to identify the spatial characteristics of precipitation of Meiyu in Anhui Province using the collected data of 1957–2020. We further conduct a comparison analysis of the precipitation characteristics in the northern Huaihe River of Aihui province (NHA) with Meiyu rainfall features in two other regions: south of the Yangtze River in Anhui Province (SYA) and the region between the Yangtze River and Huaihe River in Anhui Province (YHA). Finally, the relation between the intensity index between Meiyu and flood or drought is investigated. The results showed that the climatic feature in NHA is a transitional region between Meiyu and non-Meiyu. Also, we proposed a Meiyu intensity index determined by the precipitation amount, intensity, and days of heavy rain. This index performs better than the Meiyu intensity index of National Standard in terms of flood and drought identification. HIGHLIGHTS Northern part of Huaihe River in Anhui Province is located in the transition zone between Meiyu region and non-Meiyu region.; The ending date of Meiyu in the northern part of Huaihe River in Anhui Province should be determined by the northward jump of subtropical high.; The suggested Meiyu intensity index determined by precipitation amount, intensity, and days of heavy rain performs better.;

Keywords

• flood or drought disaster
• meiyu intensity index
• north of huaihe river in anhui province
• rainy season
• ridge of subtropical high