Analysis of the Climatic Change Characteristics in the Southern Tibetan Plateau from 1971 to 2007

Based on the monthly precipitation and monthly mean temperature data of 24 meteorological stations from 1971 to 2007 in the southern Tibetan Plateau,the spatial and temporal characteristics of climate variation are analyzed.The results show: 1) During 1971 to 2007,climate warming was significant in the southern Tibetan Plateau,with an increase rate of annual mean temperature by 0.33 ℃·(10a)-1,and the climate warming mostly occurred after 1990.Climate warming became faster during 1991~2007,with a rate of temperature rise of 0.76 ℃·(10a)-1;after 1997 climate warmed dramatically,with a rate of temperature rise of 1.14 ℃·(10a)-1.Climate warming was mainly characterized by temperature rise all year,especially in winter,with a rate of temperature rise by 0.41 ℃·(10a)-1 during 1991 to 2007.In the southern Tibetan Plateau,there was a significant spatial difference in temperature rise.The rate of the climate warming had an increasing trend from the east to the west.2) Over the period from 1971 to 2007,there was an unobvious increasing trend in annual precipitation in the southern Tibetan Plateau,with a significant regional difference(decrease in the western section whereas increase in the eastern section).It seems that precipitation decreased from the east to the west with the increase of altitude and topography.3) In summary,over the period from 1971 to 2007,the climatic change in the southern Tibetan Plateau was mainly characterized by combination of warming and wetting,with a significant regional difference.In the eastern section,the climate shifted to warmer and wetter,whereas in the western section the climate shifted to warmer and dryer.