Decadal Variation of Summer Rainfall in the Yangtze-Huaihe River Valley and Its Relationship to Atmospheric Circulation Anomalies over East Asia and Western North Pacific

Decadal variations of summer rainfall during 1951 through 1990 are analyzed by using summer rainfall data of 160 stations in China. Four major patterns of decadal variations are identified. The decadal variations of summer rainfall showed northward shift in the eastern China from South China through the Yangtze-Huaihe River to North China. Summer rainfall in the Yangtze-Huaihe River valley underwent two obvious decadal transitions during the 40 years: one from rainy period to drought period in the end of the 1950’s, the other from drought period to rainy period in the late 1970’s. Correspondingly, the atmospheric circulation over East Asia through the western North Pacific showed two similar obvious transitions. The East Asian/ Pacific (EAP) pattern switched from high index to low index in the end of the 1950’s and from low index to high index in the late 1970’s, respectively. Hence, summer rainfall in the Yangtze-Huaihe River valley is closely associated with the EAP pattern not only in the interannual variation but also in the decadal variation.