Spatio-temporal Variability of Disastrous Convective Weather in China from 1961 to 2016

Based on the data of hail, gale, thunderstorm and lightning days in 2 481 stations in China from 1961 to 2016, the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics, periodicity and climate abruption characteristics of four kinds of disastrous convective weather in China were analyzed by various mathematical statistics methods. The results showed that in time, the days of four kinds of disastrous convective weather in China decreased, and the hail and thunderstorm days were characterized by "increasing firstly and then decreasing" from 1961 to 2016. The hail, gale, thunderstorm and lightning days in China had oscillation cycles of 3-5, 2-3, 1-2 and 1-4 a respectively, and the hail and thunderstorm days changed suddenly in 2002 and 1992 respectively. In space, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and western Sichuan were the high-value distribution areas of hail, gale and thunderstorm days. The high-value distribution areas of thunderstorm days were also distributed to the south of the Yangtze River. South China and its southwestern regions at the same latitude were the high-value distribution areas of lightning days. In terms of trend, the hail days in China showed a decreasing trend mainly in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The gale days in China decreased in the east, was unchanged in the central region, and increased and decreased alternately in the west. The thunderstorm days in China increased in Tibet, North China, Chongqing, Zhejiang and northwestern Heilongjiang. The lightning days in China decreased obviously to the south of the Yangtze River. In terms of the fluctuation, the hail days fluctuated greatly in the southeast. The gale days fluctuated greatly to the east of Hu Huanyong line. The thunderstorms days in China fluctuated greatly in the northwest and slightly in the southeast. In addition to the small fluctuation in northern Xinjiang and South China, the lightning days fluctuated greatly in other regions of China.