Skip to main content
Log in

Influences of three oceans on record-breaking rainfall over the Yangtze River Valley in June 2020

  • Research Paper
  • Published:
Science China Earth Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The rainfall over the Yangtze River Valley (YRV) in June 2020 broke the record since 1979. Here we show that all three oceans of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans contribute to the YRV rainfall in June 2020, but the Atlantic plays a dominant role. The sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in three oceans are associated with the two vorticity anomalies: negative 200-hPa relative vorticity anomalies over North China (NC) and negative 850-hPa relative vorticity anomalies in the South China Sea (SCS). The rainfall anomalies in the YRV are mainly controlled by atmospheric process associated with the NC vorticity. The positive SST anomalies in May over the western North Atlantic induce positive geopotential height anomalies in June over the mid-latitude North Atlantic, which affect the rainfall anomalies in the YRV by changing the NC vorticity via Atlantic-induced atmospheric wave train across Europe. The Indian Ocean and tropical North Atlantic, as capacitors of Pacific El Niño events in the preceding winter, affect the SCS vorticity associated with the anomalous anticyclone over the SCS and also facilitate the YRV rainfall by providing favorable moisture conditions. This study suggests that the May SST over the western North Atlantic is a good predictor of June rainfall anomalies in the YRV and highlights the important impacts of three-ocean SSTs on extreme weather and climate events in China.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Chen M, Xie P, Janowiak J E, Arkin P A. 2002. Global land precipitation: A 50-yr monthly analysis based on gauge observations. J Hydrometeor, 3: 249–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen Z, Du Y, Wen Z, Wu R, Xie S P. 2019. Evolution of south tropical Indian Ocean warming and the climatic impacts following strong El Niño events. J Clim, 32: 7329–7347

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ding R, Ha K J, Li J. 2010. Interdecadal shift in the relationship between the East Asian summer monsoon and the tropical Indian Ocean. Clim Dyn, 34: 1059–1071

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ding Y, Chan J C L. 2005. The East Asian summer monsoon: An overview. Meteorol Atmos Phys, 89: 117–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ding Y, Liang P, Liu Y, Zhang Y. 2020. Multiscale variability of Meiyu and its prediction: A new review. J Geophys Res Atmos, 125: e31496

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang B, Thorne P W, Banzon V F, Boyer T, Chepurin G, Lawrimore J H, Menne M J, Smith T M, Vose R S, Zhang H M. 2017. Extended reconstructed sea surface temperature, version 5 (ERSSTv5): Upgrades, validations, and intercomparisons. J Clim, 30: 8179–8205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalnay E, Kanamitsu M, Kistler R, Collins W, Deaven D, Gandin L, Iredell M, Saha S, White G, Woollen J, Zhu Y, Leetmaa A, Reynolds R, Chelliah M, Ebisuzaki W, Higgins W, Janowiak J, Mo K C, Ropelewski C, Wang J, Jenne R, Joseph D. 1996. The NCEP/NCAR 40-year re-analysis project. Bull Amer Meteor Soc, 77: 437–472

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li J, Zeng Q. 2002. A unified monsoon index. Geophys Res Lett, 29: 115-1–115-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu B, Yan Y, Zhu C, Ma S, Li J. 2020. Record-Breaking Meiyu Rainfall Around the Yangtze River in 2020 Regulated by the Subseasonal Phase Transition of the North Atlantic Oscillation. Geophys Res Lett, 47: e90342

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu R. 2002. Indices of the summertime western North Pacific subtropical high. Adv Atmos Sci, 19: 1004–1028

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu R, Dong B. 2005. Impact of Atlantic sea surface temperature anomalies on the summer climate in the western North Pacific during 1997–1998. J Geophys Res, 110: D16102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu R, Ying L, Ryu C S. 2008. Relationship between the zonal displacement of the western Pacific subtropical high and the dominant modes of low-tropospheric circulation in summer. Prog Nat Sci, 18: 161–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nan S, Li J. 2003. The relationship between the summer precipitation in the Yangtze River valley and the boreal spring Southern Hemisphere annular mode. Geophys Res Lett, 30: 2266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rong X Y, Zhang R H, Li T. 2010. Impacts of Atlantic sea surface temperature anomalies on Indo-East Asian summer monsoon-ENSO relationship. Chin Sci Bull, 55: 2458–2468

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun J, Ming J, Zhang M, Yu S. 2018. Circulation features associated with the record-breaking rainfall over South China in June 2017. J Clim, 31: 7209–7224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takaya Y, Ishikawa I, Kobayashi C, Endo H, Ose T. 2020. Enhanced Meiyu-Baiu rainfall in early summer 2020: Aftermath of the 2019 super IOD event. Geophys Res Lett, 47: 1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takaya K, Nakamura H. 2001. A formulation of a phase-independent wave-activity flux for stationary and migratory quasigeostrophic eddies on a zonally varying basic flow. J Atmos Sci, 58: 608–627

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang C. 2019. Three-ocean interactions and climate variability: A review and perspective. Clim Dyn, 53: 5119–5136, doi: 10.1007/s00382-019-04930-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang L, Gu W. 2016. The Eastern China flood of June 2015 and its causes. Sci Bull, 61: 178–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang L, Yu J Y, Paek H. 2017. Enhanced biennial variability in the Pacific due to Atlantic capacitor effect. Nat Commun, 8: 14887

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu Z, Wang B, Li J, Jin F F. 2009. An empirical seasonal prediction model of the East Asian summer monsoon using ENSO and NAO. J Geophys Res, 114: D18120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xie P, Arkin P A. 1997. Global precipitation: A 17-year monthly analysis based on gauge observations, satellite estimates, and numerical model outputs. Bull Amer Meteor Soc, 78: 2539–2558

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xie S P, Hu K, Hafner J, Tokinaga H, Du Y, Huang G, Sampe T. 2009. Indian Ocean capacitor effect on Indo-western Pacific climate during the summer following El Niño. J Clim, 22: 730–747

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang H, Sun S. 2005. The characteristics of longitudinal movement of the subtropical high in the western Pacific in the pre-rainy season in South China. Adv Atmos Sci, 22: 392–400

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan C, Liu J, Luo J J, Guan Z. 2019. Influences of tropical Indian and Pacific oceans on the interannual variations of precipitation in the early and late rainy seasons in South China. J Clim, 32: 3681–3694

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank two reviewers whose comments and suggestions help improve the manuscript. This study was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grand No. 2019YFA0606701), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grand No. 41731173), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grand Nos. XDB42000000 & XDA20060502), the Key Special Project for Introduced Talents Team of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou) (Grand No. GML2019ZD0306), the Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grand No. ISEE2018PY06), the Leading Talents of Guangdong Province Program, the National Program on Global Change and Air-Sea Interaction under grant GASI-IPOVAI-03, and the Independent Research Project Program of State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography (Grand No. LTOZZ2004). The numerical computation was supported by the High Performance Computing Division in the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chunzai Wang.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zheng, J., Wang, C. Influences of three oceans on record-breaking rainfall over the Yangtze River Valley in June 2020. Sci. China Earth Sci. 64, 1607–1618 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-020-9758-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-020-9758-9

Keywords

Navigation