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Advances in the aquatic sciences
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Spatiotemporal variations of precipitation patterns in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River Basin

Yang Xiao A B C , Ran Gu A , Qiang Zhou C , Mengyang Chen C , Taotao Zhang C , Chen Xu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8008-2963 D * and Zhenhong Zhu D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, PR China.

B Key Laboratory of Hydrologic-Cycle and Hydrodynamic-System of Ministry of Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing, PR China.

C School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, PR China.

D School of Geography Science and Geomatics Engineering, 99 Xuefu Road, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, PR China.

* Correspondence to: xc_mornings@163.com

Handling Editor: Yong Xiao

Marine and Freshwater Research 75, MF24135 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF24135
Submitted: 18 June 2024  Accepted: 15 July 2024  Published: 7 August 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Context

With escalating global climate change, regional flood disasters have become increasingly prevalent. Precipitation, as a primary influencing factor, has garnered significant attention.

Aims

This study is based on precipitation data to investigate the spatiotemporal characteristics of precipitation in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River Basin (MLYB), trying to explore more concise methods for precipitation forecasting.

Methods

Statistical methods were employed to analyse historical precipitation patterns, followed by forecasting future trends using statistical time series models.

Key results

Precipitation in the MLYB exhibited a decreasing trend during 1961–2010, which shifted to an increasing trend after 2011, becoming more pronounced since 2017. Precipitation patterns in the MLYB were clearly increasing in the east and decreasing in the west, with the Taihu Basin showing the greatest rise. The ARIMA model predicted a significant increase in precipitation after 2022.

Conclusions

In recent years, precipitation in the MLYB has significantly increased, especially in downstream areas. Although the ARIMA model offers an effective and reasonably simple method for short-term forecast, it struggles with complex terrain influences.

Implications

These findings provide a theoretical basis for flood prevention in the MLYB, as well as a reference for precipitation prediction simulations in data-limited regions.

Keywords: ARIMA, climate change, evolution, flooding, fresh water, hydrology, precipitation, simulations.

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