Different Future Changes between Early and Late Summer Monsoon Precipitation in East Asia

Abstract

This study investigates the future changes in East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) precipitation and the associated atmospheric circulation changes based on ensemble projections with the 60-km mesh Meteorological Research Institute atmospheric general circulation model (MRI-AGCM60). The projections at the end of the twenty-first century under the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5) scenario indicate an overall increase in EASM precipitation but with large sub-seasonal and regional variations. In June, the Meiyu-Baiu rainband is projected to strengthen, with its eastern part (i.e., the Baiu rainband) shifted southward relative to its present-day position. This result is robust within the ensemble simulations. In July and August, the simulations consistently project a significant increase in precipitation over the northern East Asian continent and neighboring seas; however, there is a lack of consensus on the projection of the Meiyu-Baiu rainband in July. A small change in precipitation over the Pacific is another feature in August.

Results of sensitivity experiments with the MRI-AGCM60 reveal that the precipitation changes in early summer are dominated by the effects of sea surface temperature (SST) warming (i.e., uniform warming and the tropical pattern change), inducing an increase in atmospheric moisture and a strengthening and southward shift of the upper-level East Asian westerly jet (EAJ), especially over the Pacific. On the other hand, the influence of land warming and successive large SST warming in the extratropics is apparent in the precipitation changes in late summer. These late summer effects oppose and exceed the early summer effects through changes in the EAJ and low-level monsoon winds. These results suggest that the competition between the opposing factors makes the signal of the Meiyu-Baiu rainband response smaller in July than in June. Therefore, there tends to be a larger spread among simulations regarding the future tendency of the rainband in July.