In this study, we utilized dual-polarization weather radar and disdrometer data to investigate the kinematic and microphysical characteristics of an extreme heavy rainfall event that occurred on 20 July 2021, in Zhengzhou. The results are as follows: FY-2G satellite images showed that extremely heavy rainfall mainly occurred during the merging period of medium- and small-scale convective cloud clusters. The merging of these cloud clusters enhanced the rainfall intensity. The refined three-dimensional wind field, as retrieved by the multi-Doppler radar, revealed a prominent mesoscale vortex and convergence structure at the extreme rainfall stage. This led to echo stagnation, resulting in localized extreme heavy rainfall. We explored the formation mechanism of the notable ZDR arc feature of dual-polarization variables during this phase. It was revealed that during the record-breaking hourly rainfall event in Zhengzhou (20 July 2021, 16:00–17:00 Beijing Time), the warm rain process dominated. Effective collision–coalescence processes, producing a high concentration of medium- to large-sized raindrops, significantly contributed to heavy rainfall at the surface. From an observational perspective, it was revealed that raindrops exhibited significant collision interactions during their descent. Moreover, a conceptual model for the kinematic and microphysical characteristics of this extreme rainfall event was established, aiming to provide technical support for monitoring and early warning of similar extreme rainfall events.

The shifts in dry-wet climate regions are a natural response to climate change and have a profound impact on the regional agriculture and ecosystems. In this paper, we divided China into four dry-wet climate regions, i.e., arid, semi-arid, semi-humid, and humid regions, based on the humidity index (HI). A comparison of the two 30-year periods, i.e., 1960–1989 and 1990–2019, revealed that there was a shift in climate type in each dry-wet climate region, with six newly formed transitions, and the total area of the shifts to wetter conditions was more than two times larger than that of the shifts to drier conditions. Interestingly, the shifts to drier types were basically distributed in the monsoon region (east of 100∘ E) and especially concentrated in the North China Plain where agricultural development relies heavily on irrigation, which would increase the challenges in dealing with water shortage and food production security under a warming climate. The transitions to wetter types were mainly distributed in western China (west of 100∘ E), and most areas of the Junggar Basin have changed from arid to semi-arid region, which should benefit the local agricultural production and ecological environment to some extent. Based on a contribution analysis method, we further quantified the impacts of each climate factor on HI changes. Our results demonstrated that the dominant factor controlling HI changes in the six newly formed transition regions was P, followed by air temperature (Ta). In the non-transition zones of the arid and semi-arid regions, an increase in P dominated the increase of HI. However, in the non-transition zones of the semi-humid and humid region with a more humid background climate, the thermal factors (e.g., Ta, and net radiation (Rn)) contributed more than or equivalent to the contribution of P to HI change. These findings can provide scientific reference for water resources management and sustainable agricultural development in the context of climate change.

To analyze the effects of gas cannons on clouds and precipitation, multisource observational data, including those from National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis, Hangzhou and Huzhou new-generation weather radars, laser disdrometer, ground-based automatic weather station, wind profiler radar, and Lin'an C-band dual-polarization radar, were adopted in this study. Based on the variational dual-Doppler wind retrieval method and the polarimetric variables obtained by the dual-polarization radar, we analyzed the microphysical processes and the variations in the macro-and microphysical quantities in clouds from the perspective of the synoptic background before precipitation enhancement, the polarization echo characteristics before, during and after enhancement, and the evolution of the fine three-dimensional kinematic structure and the microphysical structure. The results show that the precipitation enhancement operation promoted the development of radar echoes and prolonged their duration, and both the horizontal and vertical wind speeds increased. The dual-polarization radar echo showed that the diameter of the precipitation particles increased, and the concentration of raindrops increased after precipitation enhancement. The raindrops were lifted to a height corresponding to 0 to-20℃due to vertical updrafts. Based on the disdrometer data during precipitation enhancement, the concentration of small raindrops (lgNw) showed a significant increase, and the mass-weighted diameter Dm value decreased, indicating that the precipitation enhancement operation played a certain"lubricating"effect. After the precipitation enhancement, the concentration of raindrops did not change much compared with that during the enhancement process, while the Dm increased, corresponding to an increase in rain intensity. The results suggest the positive effect of gas cannons on precipitation enhancement.

This paper introduced the algorithm of three-dimensional wind fields retrieval from dual-Doppler radar data based on variational method. In the proposed method, the three-dimensional wind fields are obtained by minimizing a cost function through variational approach. The main constraints included in this cost function are the radial velocities of two radars, mass continuity, vertical vorticity, and smoothness. The algorithm is tested with the dual-Doppler radar observation data collected during the case of extreme precipitation event in Huzhou of Zhejiang Province, on 5-6 September, 2019. The results indicate that the three-dimensional wind fields retrieved by this method are quite reasonable. The wind fields and related kinematic structure of convection system that produces extreme precipitations are successfully revealed.