Revisiting the differential impacts of Eastern‐Pacific and Central‐Pacific El Niño on late autumn to winter precipitation over South China

Although intensive studies examined the precipitation anomalies in China during the Eastern-Pacific (EP) and Central-Pacific (CP) El Niño , the impact of the CP El Niño event on winter precipitation in South China remains controversial. Besides, precipitation in South China peaks from late autumn to winter (November, December, and January, NDJ) during the winter half-year. These motivate us to revisit NDJ precipitation anomalies in South China during the EP and CP El Niño events. Results show that significantly increased precipitation is observed during both types of El Niño events. However, the spatial patterns and intensities of the precipitation anomalies differ. During the EP El Niño event, large positive precipitation anomalies appear throughout South China. In contrast, during the CP El Niño event, much smaller precipitation anomalies occur primarily in the southwest-to-northeast inland region of South China. These differences originate from the varying locations and intensities of warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the equatorial Pacific related to El Niño. The SST anomalies during the CP El Niño are located farther west and weaker than during the EP El Niño. A pair of an anomalous anticyclone east of or over the Philippine Islands and an anomalous cyclone northeast of South China connect these SST anomalies to precipitation in South China. We demonstrate that the correlations between CP El Niño and NDJ precipitation anomalies in South China vary remarkably across different periods. This may explain the source of controversy regarding the impact of the CP El Niño on precipitation in South China. • Increased precipitation in South China is seen during EP and CP El Niño. • Precipitation anomalies during two types of El Niño differ in location and intensity. • Small precipitation anomalies occur in inland regions of South China for CP El Niño. • Differences in precipitation anomalies stem from varying equatorial SST anomalies. • An AAC-AC pair connects equatorial SST anomalies to the precipitation anomalies.