Donat, M. G., Alexander, L. V., Yang, H., Durre, I., Vose, R., Dunn, R. J. H., Willett, K. M., Aguilar, E., Brunet, M., Caesar, J., Hewitson, B., Jack, C., Klein Tank, A. M. G., Kruger, A. C., Marengo, J., Peterson, T. C., Renom, M. et al

Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres

Published date March 4, 2013

Updated analyses of temperature and precipitation extreme indices since the beginning of the twentieth century: The HadEX2 dataset

  • Presents the collation and analysis of the gridded land-based dataset of indices of temperature and precipitation extremes: HadEX2
  • Finds there was very good agreement with the previous HadEX dataset during the overlapping data period
  • Results showed widespread significant changes in temperature extremes consistent with warming, especially for those indices derived from daily minimum temperature over the whole 110 years of record but with stronger trends in more recent decades
  • Finds no significant change in the intensity of extreme Indian temperatures between 1951 and 2010, but a significant increase in the frequency of extreme temperatures and a remarkable trend in the duration of warm spells in India
  • Seasonal results showed significant warming in all seasons but more so in the colder months
  • Precipitation indices also showed widespread and significant trends, but the changes were much more spatially heterogeneous compared with temperature changes
  • Results indicated more areas with significant increasing trends in extreme precipitation amounts, intensity, and frequency than areas with decreasing trends