Characteristics of the Temporal Variation in Temperature and Precipitation in China’s Lower Yellow River Region

We analyzed the spatial and temporal distributions of temperature and precipitation in China’s Yellow River Region between 1960 and 2001 by compiling meteorological data using anomalies, climate trend rate, linear regression, trend analysis, spline functions, and other methods. The results show that the average temperatures in the Region have an upward trend at a rate of 0.19°C every 10 years. There are no significant changes in the Region’s summers, but the winters have become visibly warmer, with the temperatures significantly increasing from the 1980s. The average annual precipitation rate has shown a downwards trend at a rate of −11.7 mm every 10 years. Even though the precipitation rate shows variations, the amount of precipitation is inconsistent with the most significant decrease in precipitation rates being seen during summer followed by autumn, while the rates actually slightly increased during spring and winter. Over the 42 years, the Region as a whole showed a trend of climate warming and drying with 77% of the total sites studied showing these combined trends. Before the 1980s, mainly a drying and cooling trend was observed. In the mid-to-late 80s the temperatures rose, resulting in the change to a warming and drying trend.