Evaluation of precipitation extremes in ERA5 reanalysis driven regional climate simulations over the CORDEX-Australasia domain

Fei Ji; Giovanni Di Virgilio; Nidhi Nishant; Eugene Tam; Jason P. Evans; Jatin Kala; Julia Andrys; Chris Thomas; Matthew L. Riley

Weather and Climate Extremes (Jun 2024)

Evaluation of precipitation extremes in ERA5 reanalysis driven regional climate simulations over the CORDEX-Australasia domain

Fei Ji,
Giovanni Di Virgilio,
Nidhi Nishant,
Eugene Tam,
Jason P. Evans,
Jatin Kala,
Julia Andrys,
Chris Thomas,
Matthew L. Riley

Affiliations

Fei Ji: Science, Economics and Insights Division, NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Sydney, Australia; Corresponding author. NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, 11 Farrer Place, (PO.Box 733), Queanbeyan, NSW, 2620, Australia.
Giovanni Di Virgilio: Science, Economics and Insights Division, NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Sydney, Australia; Climate Change Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Nidhi Nishant: Transport for NSW, Sydney, Australia
Eugene Tam: Science, Economics and Insights Division, NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Sydney, Australia
Jason P. Evans: Climate Change Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Jatin Kala: Murdoch University, School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences, HBI Center for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, 6150, Western Australia, Australia
Julia Andrys: Murdoch University, School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences, HBI Center for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, 6150, Western Australia, Australia
Chris Thomas: Climate Change Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Matthew L. Riley: Science, Economics and Insights Division, NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Sydney, Australia

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 44
p. 100676

Abstract

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Reanalysis-driven regional climate simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model in New South Wales (NSW) and Australian Regional Climate Modelling (NARCliM) Version 2.0 are assessed for capturing precipitation extreme indices. Seven configurations of the WRF model driven by ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) Reanalysis v5 (ERA5) for Australia from 1979 to 2020 at 20 km resolution are evaluated. We assess the spatiotemporal patterns of six selected Expert Team on Sector-Specific Climate Indices (ET-SCI) precipitation extremes by comparing regional climate model (RCM) simulations against gridded observations. The RCMs evaluated have varying levels of accuracy in simulating precipitation extremes. While they capture climatology and coefficient of variation of precipitation extremes relatively well, temporal correlation and trend reproduction present challenges. Some RCMs perform more effectively for specific extreme indices, while others encounter challenges in accurately replicating them. No single RCM excels in all aspects, highlighting the need to consider specific strengths when selecting RCMs for global climate model (GCM) driven simulations.

Published in Weather and Climate Extremes

ISSN: 2212-0947 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science: Physics: Meteorology. Climatology
Website: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/weather-and-climate-extremes/

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