Why was the arid and semiarid northwest China getting wetter in the recent decades?

The arid and semiarid northwest China has experienced a significant wetting trend in summer during 1961–2010, but the reasons remain ambiguous. In this study, moisture budget analysis is employed to quantify the contributions of different factors to the wetting trend. The results show that more than 50% of the increasing precipitation is balanced by the increased evaporation. The convergence of moisture flux (the sum of horizontal moisture advection and wind convergence terms) has a significant positive contribution to the wetting trend. The increased net surface radiation, which is contributed by the increased downward longwave radiation, supplies more energy to favor the evaporation process of vaporization. The moisture flux convergence is further separated into thermodynamic component in association with changes in specific humidity and dynamic component due to changes in atmospheric circulation. The thermodynamic contribution to the wetting trend is induced by the increased specific humidity which is associated with enhanced evaporation. The dynamic contribution is dominated by an anomalous cyclone over central Asia. The anomalous cyclone is related with intensified horizontal vorticity advection which is associated with a significant southward displacement of Asian subtropical westerly jet. The results indicate that the changes of evaporation against the background of global warming deserve more attention in projecting the climate change in arid and semiarid regions. Key Points The contribution of increased specific humidity is the dominant factor for the wetting trend The increasing specific humidity is associated with the enhanced evaporation which is favored by increased downward longwave radiation The anomalous ascending motion induced by southward displacement of Asian subtropical westerly jet also contributes to the wetting trend