Tropical cyclone- and monsoon-induced rainfall variability over southern China
Southern China (SC) belongs to the East Asian summer monsoon region. Climatological rainfall over SC has two peaks, one appearing in April-June and the other in August-September. These peaks are mainly associated with the summer monsoon and the passage of tropical cyclones (TCs), respectively. TCs forming in the South China Sea (SCS) contributed to an increase in SC summer rainfall around 1993. In Taiwan, tropical cyclone-induced precipitation (PTC) and summer monsoon-induced precipitation (PSM) tend to vary inversely on both interdecadal and interannual time scales. Although SC and Taiwan are situated at almost the same latitude, scientists from Sun Yat-Sen University and South China Sea Institute of Oceanology pointed out that the relationship over SC between PTC and PSM is different from that in Taiwan. The results are published in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters.