Seasonal Highlights

1. Climate in China

During spring 2014, seasonal surface air temperature averaged over China was 11.4°C, with 1.0°C above normal (10.4℃) and ranked the 2nd highest since 1961.For the season, the mean precipitation was 146.1mm in China, which was 1.7% above normal (143.7mm).And extremes of High Temperature (HT), Daily Temperature Drop (DTD) and Daily Precipitation (DP) were observed in China.

2. General Circulation Features

Northern Hemisphere: During the boreal spring (Mar-May 2014), a three-wave pattern over mid-high latitudes was observed on the field of mean 500hPa geopotential height. In the field of height anomaly, positive anomalies above 4 dam covered northern Europe, eastern Russia, and Alaska, with central values above 8 dam in the eastern Lake Baikal. Meanwhile, negative anomalies below -4 dam were observed over the eastern North Pacific, regions from northern Canada to Greenland, and regions from parts of northwestern Russia to the Kara Sea, with central values below -8 dam over parts of northern Novaya Zemlya.

Southern Hemisphere: During the boreal spring, in the field of 500hPa geopotential height anomaly, positive anomalies above 4 dam covered the southern South Pacific, regions from southern South Atlantic Ocean to central Antarctica, with central values above 8 dam over Weddell Sea. Meanwhile, negative anomalies below -4 dam covered Amundsen Sea and the southeastern South Indian Ocean.