Anthropogenic forcings induce diverse climate changes in different regions of Asia

Abstract Anthropogenic forcing has an important impact on the climate by changing the atmospheric composition or surface characteristics, but the specific causes of the cold and warm centers in summer and winter in Asia are unclear. The reasons behind why East Asia sees a pattern of flooding in the south and drought in the north, and the increased wetness of arid East Asia, are also unclear. The causes of changes in surface air temperature and precipitation in Asia over the past few decades were studied using data from the Climatic Research Unit and experiments with global and regional climate numerical models. It was found that the impacts of anthropogenic forcings on surface air temperature and precipitation in Asia show remarkable regional and seasonal differences. Against the background of global warming, two summer warm holes, located in the Thar Desert and Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, respectively, are apparent, mainly attributable to the human activities of land-use change and non-absorbing aerosol-induced surface cooling exceeding that of warming from greenhouse gas emissions. Changes in land use have increased the wetness of arid East Asia by enhancing westerlies as well as suppressing the transport of water vapor from the southern monsoon region of East Asia to the northern monsoon region of East Asia, resulting in a summer pattern of southern floods and northern droughts.