Projected climate change over Southeast Asia simulated using a WRF regional climate model
Chakrit Chotamonsak,1* Eric P. Salath´e Jr,2 Jiemjai Kreasuwan,3 Somporn Chantara1 and Kingkeo Siriwitayakorn3
1Environmental Science Program and Centre for Environmental Health, Toxicology and Management of Chemicals (ETM), Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
2Department of Science and Technology, University of Washington, Bothell, Washington, USA
3Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Abstract
Dynamical downscaling of a global climate model is applied at 60-km horizontal resolution to project changes from 1990–1999 to 2045–2054 of temperature and precipitation over Southeast Asia. The regional climate model reproduces the observed spatial distribution of temperature well, with a cold bias for maximum temperatures and a warm bias for minimum temperatures. Wet-season precipitation is simulated with less skill than dry-season precipitation. Projected warming varies from <0.1 to 3◦C depending on the location and season, with greater warming at night than daytime for all seasons. Precipitation increases on average, with local decreases in the dry season.
Copyright 2011 Royal Meteorological Society
Keywords: climate change; dynamical downscaling; regional climate model; Southeast Asia
ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE LETTERS
Atmos. Sci. Let. (2011)
Published online in Wiley Online Library
(wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/asl.313
