Assessing Observed Temperature and Cloud Amount Trends for China Over the LastHalf of the Twentieth Century: What Can the Sunshine Duration Record Tell Us

摘要

Analyses performed in recent years have shown that temperatures over much ofChina have increased over the last half of the Twentieth Century, similar to most nations with adequate observational data. Most of this observed increase has been due to increases in daily minimum temperatures. Over this same period, cloud amount over China has been found to have decreased significantly. This is an interesting finding in that a trend toward less cloudiness over time would in itself be expected to cause minimum temperatures (usually occurring in the near-dawn hours) to decrease over time due to enhanced radiational cooling near the surface. Obviously the causes of increasing temperature in general over China are not well understood at this time.