Work

Different effects of eastern and central Pacific El Niño events on the surface shortwave radiation over southern China in winter

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This study investigates the distinct impacts of eastern Pacific (EP) and central Pacific (CP) El Niño events on winter shortwave solar radiation (SSR) in southern China, revealing different spatial distributions and underlying mechanisms. The results show that, during the developing winter of EP El Niño, significant SSR reductions occur in southwestern China and the east coast of southern China due to a strong, zonally extended Northwest Pacific anticyclone that transports moisture from the tropical Northwest Pacific and North Indian Ocean, while the northeast of southern China experiences a weak increase in SSR. In contrast, during the developing winter of CP El Niño, SSR decreases in the east of southern China with a significant decrease in the lower basin of the Yangtze River but an increase in the west of southern China with a remarkable increase in eastern Yunnan. The pronounced east–west dipole pattern in SSR anomalies is driven by a meridionally elongated Northwest Pacific anticyclone, which enhances northward moisture transport to the east of southern China while leaving western areas drier. Further research reveals that distinct moisture anomalies during the developing winter of EP and CP events result in divergent SSR distributions across southern China, primarily through modulating the total cloud cover. These findings highlight the critical need to differentiate between El Niño types when predicting medium and long-term variability of radiation in southern China.

Source: Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters

DOI: 10.1016/j.aosl.2025.100655