An Increasing Trend in the Early-Winter Precipitation around Japan and Its Relationship with Enhanced Heating over the Tropical Eastern Indian Ocean

Abstract

This study examines the factors responsible for the long-term changes of winter monsoonal flow around Japan in association with increasing precipitation trends in December along the coastal areas of Honshu (the main island of Japan) facing the Sea of Japan. The precipitation around the tropical eastern Indian Ocean and maritime continent has significantly increased in recent years. Thus, a packet of the stationary Rossby wave associated with the anomalous heating deflects the subtropical jet to the south over the eastern edge of the Eurasian continent. The deflection of the jet gives favorable conditions for the development of a low pressure trough in the lower level on the eastern side, leading to the formation of negative height anomalies near the surface around Japan.

Although tropical precipitation also increases in November and January, the anomalous heating induces negative height anomalies and cyclonic circulations over the inland region of China and eastern offshore region of Japan (to the further west and east in comparison with those in December) in these months. As a result, monsoonal flow around Japan (and precipitation along the coastal areas of the Sea of Japan) shows no long-term trends in November or January.