Temporal Climatology and Anomalous Weather Analysis

By breaking down atmospheric variables into temporal climatologies and anomalies, this book demonstrates that all weather extremes and climatic events are directly associated with the anomaly component of atmospheric motion. We can use the anomaly-based synoptic chart and dynamical parameters to objectively describe these extremes and events. The conception and differences of weather, climate and general circulation tend to confuse us, because there are no clear physical definitions available for them.

Weather extremes such as heat waves, cold surges, freezing rains, heavy rains, severe drought, unusual storm tracks, and tornados are common on our planet’s surface. Climatic events such as Arctic warming and declining sea ice have become hot topics in recent years. An approach based on breaking down total variables into temporal climatologies and anomalies can be used to identify general circulation, analyze climatic anomalies and forecast weather extremes. Accordingly, this book will appeal to students, teachers and forecasters in the field of weather and climate alike.

Weihong Qian is currently a Professor at Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University. He has lectured two courses, “Synoptic Meteorology” for undergraduate and “Global Climate System” for postgraduate, since 2000. He has published three teaching materials including “Synoptic Meteorology” in 2004, “Global Climate System” in 2008, and “Principles of Medium to Extended Range Weather Forecasts” in 2012. His research activities are mainly devoted to identifying natural change with multiple tempo-spatial scales, forecasting weather extremes and climatic anomalies. In 2011, he has successfully applied two patents for the applications of the anomaly-based approach on synoptic charts and medium-ranged forecast. Using current reanalysis products and climate model simulations, he has discovered the Arctic cell and the Antarctic cell in 2015 beside well-known the Hadley, Ferrell and Polar cells. He proposed the anomaly-based synoptic chart which has advantages over the traditional synoptic chart to locate surface weather extremes. He and his students developed an anomaly-based dynamical model which can predict all unusual tropical cyclone tracks in short-term period. By using the decomposition method, he and his students published 10 research papers in international journals in 2016. His method is applicable to all weather extremes. He also published “Atlas of Climate Change and China Extreme Climate Events” in 2011, “Atlas of Anomalous Circulations Associated with Regional Heavy Rainfall in China” in 2013, and “Typhoon Turning Atlas” in 2014. He is also interested in the popularization of science, and wrote a book “Who is driving climate change?” in 2011.