Changes in persistent and non-persistent extreme precipitation in China from 1961 to 2016

Abstract In this study, based on daily gage precipitation data of 2480 stations from 1961 to 2016, the summer (June–August) extreme precipitation event was defined using the 95th percentile, and the changes in persistent (last for at least 2 d) and non-persistent (1 d) extreme precipitation in China were analyzed. The results indicate that under global warming, the contribution of extreme precipitation to total summer precipitation increased in most areas of China, but it decreased in the central part of Inner Mongolia and the Sichuan Basin. In North and Southwest China, both persistent and non-persistent extreme precipitation decreased; the decreasing trend of persistent extreme precipitation was more prominent; thus, extreme precipitation event occurred more as non-persistent event. Meanwhile, in the Yangtze River Basin and South China, both types of extreme precipitation increased particularly the persistent extreme precipitation; persistent extreme precipitation occurred more compared with non-persistent events.