Western China and central Asia are positioned centrally along the Millennium Silk Road,which is regarded as a core region bridging the East and the West.Understanding the potential changes in climate over this core re...Western China and central Asia are positioned centrally along the Millennium Silk Road,which is regarded as a core region bridging the East and the West.Understanding the potential changes in climate over this core region is important to the successful implementation of the so-called＇Belt and Road Initiative＇（a $1 trillion regional investment in infrastructure）.In this study,both mean and extreme climate changes are projected using the ensemble mean of CMIP5 models.The results show a warming of ～1.5,2.9,3.6,and 6.0 ℃ under RCP2.6,4.5,6.0,and 8.5,respectively,by the end of the twenty-first century,with respect to the 1986-2005 baseline period.Meanwhile,the annual mean precipitation amount increases consistently across all RCPs,with an increase by ～14% with respect to 1986-2005 under RCP8.5.The warming over the Millennium Silk Road region reaches 1.5 ℃ before 2020 under all the emission scenarios.The 2020s （2030s） see a 2 ℃ warming under the RCP8.5 （RCP4.5） scenario.Global warming that is 0.5 ℃ lower （i.e.a warming of 1.5 ℃） could result in the avoidance of otherwise significant impacts in the Silk Road core region-specifically,a further warming of 0.73 ℃ （with an interquartile range of 0.49%-0.94 ℃） and an increase in the number of extreme heat days by 4.2,at a cost of a reduced increase of 2.72% （0.47%-3.82%） in annual precipitation.The change in consecutive dry days is region-dependent展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China[grant numbers 41330423,41420104006,and 41605057]
文摘Western China and central Asia are positioned centrally along the Millennium Silk Road,which is regarded as a core region bridging the East and the West.Understanding the potential changes in climate over this core region is important to the successful implementation of the so-called＇Belt and Road Initiative＇（a $1 trillion regional investment in infrastructure）.In this study,both mean and extreme climate changes are projected using the ensemble mean of CMIP5 models.The results show a warming of ～1.5,2.9,3.6,and 6.0 ℃ under RCP2.6,4.5,6.0,and 8.5,respectively,by the end of the twenty-first century,with respect to the 1986-2005 baseline period.Meanwhile,the annual mean precipitation amount increases consistently across all RCPs,with an increase by ～14% with respect to 1986-2005 under RCP8.5.The warming over the Millennium Silk Road region reaches 1.5 ℃ before 2020 under all the emission scenarios.The 2020s （2030s） see a 2 ℃ warming under the RCP8.5 （RCP4.5） scenario.Global warming that is 0.5 ℃ lower （i.e.a warming of 1.5 ℃） could result in the avoidance of otherwise significant impacts in the Silk Road core region-specifically,a further warming of 0.73 ℃ （with an interquartile range of 0.49%-0.94 ℃） and an increase in the number of extreme heat days by 4.2,at a cost of a reduced increase of 2.72% （0.47%-3.82%） in annual precipitation.The change in consecutive dry days is region-dependent
