A serial of quality control (QC) procedures were performed on a gauge-based global daily precipitation dataset from the Global Telecommunication System (GTS) for the period 1998-2009. A new global precipitation dataset was constructed after the control procedures. The new dataset was evaluated using CMAP and GPCP precipitation products. The results show that the frequency and spatial distribution of monthly precipitation in the new dataset well agree with those in CMAP and GPCP. The global mean correlation coefficient between gauge precipitation and CMAP/GPCP precipitation increased from 0.24 before QC to 0.70 after QC, accordingly, and the root mean square error decreased form 12 mm/d to 1 mm/d. The interannual variability of monthly precipitation in the new dataset is consistent with that of the CMAP/GPCP in Asia; and the seasonal variability of precipitation in different regions over the world coincides with those of CMAP/GPCP quite well.

Ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) method was adopted to study the non-stationary interannual and decadal variations of landfall tropical storm number in China. Time series of the landfall tropical storm number of 56 years (1951-2006) can be decomposed into a series of modes, mainly including the quasi 4 years (C01), 6-7 years (C02) and 14-16 years (C03) oscillation components. Among them, the quasi 4-year oscillation with the largest amplitude is related to ENSO. In brief, the EEMD method instead of traditional and conventional decomposition methods can bring us the isolated characteristics of the temporal variations of the landfall tropical storm number on various time scales, especially on the interannual and decadal timescales. In addition, the long-range trend is not obvious, indicating that there was no increasing or declining trend in the series of landfall tropical storm number in the past 56 years. Moreover, the correlation analysis also suggests that the interdecadal variations of landfall tropical storm number in China were closely related to the interaction between tropical and extratropical circulation systems in the Southern Hemisphere.

New advances in extremes statistics are reviewed in this paper, with emphases on application to extreme weather and climate event research as well as in large-scale engineering design. For example, the generalized Pareto distribution (GPD) based on the peak, the generalized extreme value distribution (GEV) based on the block maxima over threshold (POT) method, and the theoretical relationship of parameters between GPD and GEV; the quantile estimation of extreme precipitation model with given return periods; and the quantile estimation error of extreme value distribution models, and the multivariable extreme value distribution theory, and its application, etc.

Based on the record of revolting events in Actual Annals of Qing Dynasty (a collection of official records), the frequency (amount of counties where revolting events happened every year) of revolting events during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in North China plain is reconstructed. By comparing revolting events series with temperature and precipitation series, the interaction between climate change and social responses are analyzed. The conclusions are as follows. Revolting events broke out more frequently in colder periods, while less in warmer periods. There were much more revolting events in drought decades than in wet decades, and the three fatal revolting events were all ignited by severe droughts. The impacts of temperature and precipitation change on revolting events should be estimated at different time scales. In the late Qing Dynasty, the correlation between revolting events and climate change became more and more significant, along with the contradiction between population and land area becoming increasingly intense.

Using the daily weather data from 214 stations over southern China rice growing area during 1961-2009, impact of global warming on the rice cultivable area in southern China was studied. The results show that the accumulated temperature in rice-growing areas across southern China obviously increased in the period of 1961-2009, it increased up to 5980.8℃?d in 2001-2009, 268.0 ℃?d higher than that in the 1960s. Correspondingly, the rice growing season has clearly prolonged up to 231.4 d, 16.5 d longer than that in the 1960s. And the growing boundary for double-cropping rice apparently shifted northwards, and one for triple-cropping rice slightly shifted northwards. From the 1960s to 1980s, the double-cropping rice grew only in the areas south of the Yangtze River. However in the recent 10 years, the cultivable area for double-cropping rice has extended even north of the Yangtze River, i.e., the northern boundaries have advanced northwards approximately 300 km, extending to northeastern Sichuan, eastern Guizhou, Chongqing, most Hubei, central Anhui, as well as southern Jiangsu.

Based on the daily observational temperature data, monthly precipitation anomalies and statistical yearbook data in Nanjing, the climatic response of crop yields to summer cumulative high temperature was analyzed. The results show that summer cumulative high temperature in Nanjing has presented an increasing trend since 1949. The linear growth rate of summer cumulative high temperature over the last 30 years is almost 8 times that over the last 60 years (2.88℃ vs. 0.35℃ per year). Summer cumulative high temperature has significant negative correlations with summer and autumn grain yields, showing a correlation coefficient of -0.66 and -0.62, respectively. Although there is also certain negative correlation between summer cumulative high temperature and the yields of oil-bearing crops, the correlation coefficient is not as significant as the former two. Crop yields show no response to summer cumulatire high temperature.

Several representative studies on China’s carbon emission scenarios in 2050 were compared in some aspects, such as methodology, scenario settings, macro parameters, energy consumption, energy consumption structure, carbon emission and carbon intensity. Under the baseline scenario of present policy framework, future energy structure will be optimized and carbon emission intensity will decrease continually, but China’s carbon emission in 2050 still has a significant increase, and the carbon emission will reach 11.9-16.2 Gt CO2 in 2050. By strengthening low carbon policy, under comparative scenarios, the optimization of energy structure and the decline of carbon emission intensity will be more obvious; and the carbon emission in 2050 will decrease significantly, China’s carbon emission will be 4.3-9.5 Gt CO2 in 2050.

Based on the annual production data collected by Chinese Civil Aviation Statistic Center, the CO2 emission of aircraft during 1960-2009 was calculated and the emission intensity and its dynamic characteristics were analyzed. The results show that the CO2 emission of aircraft in China increased from 120 kt in 1960 to 41.44 million ton in 2009. The emission intensity of CO2 decreased from 2.9 kg/(converted t km) in 1960 to 0.96 kg/(converted t km) in 2009 at an average rate of 0.04 kg/(converted t km) per year. The proportion of the CO2 emission of aircraft to the total emission in the sector of transportation, storage and post in China was 6.6% and to total emission from fossil fuel combustion in China was 0.24%.

In May 2010, the Coalition Government, by the Conservative Party and Liberal Democrat Party, came into power, and some changes were also made on the climate change policies accordingly. This paper is trying to find some emphases and changes of UK’s climate change policies, based on the Annual Energy Statement announced by the Coalition Government on July 27, 2010, the article published by Prime Minister David Cameron, and the speech delivered by Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Huhne. The new government promotes international emission reduction and maintains the international business interests of UK’s low-carbon technologies. The new government requires major developing countries to commit to the mitigation actions which are measureable, reportable and verifiable. The UK’s government shifts the focus of domestic climate change policy from emission reduction to adaptation. The new British government attaches great importance to China in the low carbon technology cooperation. Facing new opportunities as well as challenges, China needs to develop a low-carbon development strategy at national level as soon as possible.

Land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF) could allow Annex I parties in the Kyoto Protocol to release their carbon emission reduction pressure, comparably expanding more emission space for their domestic industry and energy field. LULUCF activity types and specific accounting methods were always argued among different parties, where several accounting loopholes conflicted fiercely, particularly including harvest wood product, force majeure, reference level threshold value and gross-net and net-net accounting methods selection. In order to avoid developed countries taking use of the accounting loopholes of LULUCF to decrease their emission reduction pressure, the LULUCF data submitted by main developed counties in Annex I including EU27, Canada, Japan, Russia and so on, were collected in this paper. According to the analysis of these data, the loopholes might influence the accounting results of LULUCF. The results show that the uncertainty of harvest wood product was excessive; carbon sink produced by LULUCF activities would increase averagely 30% at least without force majeure; reference level threshold value of carbon sink should be set at a higher level; net-net accounting method might be more suitable for LULUCF in post-Kyoto.