Liyan Xie

In July 2024, a severe rainfall event struck Sichuan Province, Southwest China, triggering deadly landslides and causing significant societal impacts. This study investigates the spatiotemporal characteristics and underlying mechanisms of the event using high-resolution surface observations, radar reflectivity, and ERA5 reanalysis data. The rainfall exhibited distinct mesoscale organization, with two primary precipitation centers identified: subregion A located within the plateau-lain transitional zone of the western Sichuan Basin, and subregion B situated over the Chengdu Plain. Synoptic-scale analysis indicated that the rainfall developed under favorable large-scale atmospheric conditions, including a mid-tropospheric trough, a pronounced low-level jet, and a well-defined Southwest Vortex (SWV), which is a dominant lower-tropospheric circulation system in this region. The evolution of rainfall was closely tied to the initiation and subsequent eastward progression of the SWV. The rainfall-producing mesoscale convective system (MCS) first formed over subregion A at approximately 2300 BST (UTC + 8) on 19 July. Vorticity budget diagnostics revealed that vertical advection and low-level convergence significantly contributed to vortex intensification during this initial phase, closely associated with the orographic lifting of low-level airflow. Convective activity in subregion B commenced roughly four hours later, coinciding with the eastward propagation of the SWV, during which horizontal vorticity advection became the primary mechanism sustaining the vortex. After 1400 BST on 20 July, the SWV weakened significantly, leading to the dissipation of the MCS and the cessation of rainfall.

In the Yingjiang area of western Yunnan, precipitation is high throughout the year, making it one of the regions with the highest annual precipitation in mainland China. Extreme rainfall in this region often triggers severe flooding, yet the key mechanism of water vapor transport underlying abnormally heavy precipitation remains unclear. This study used automatic weather station observations of precipitation, the fifth-generation atmospheric reanalysis produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, and Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) data to analyze, for the first time, large-scale water vapor transport, precipitation mechanisms, and the primary water vapor sources and their contributions in this region. The results show the following: In the Yingjiang area, the water vapor sources at all height levels in summer are dominated by the southwest monsoon water vapor transport pathways, such as the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, with their total contributions to specific humidity and water vapor flux exceeding 70%. This indicates that low-latitude sea areas such as the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea serve as key moisture source regions for Yingjiang in the global water vapor cycle. Water vapor transport over the windward slope causes strong low-level convergence and high-level divergence phenomena, and the suction effect leads to strong upward motion near the 850 hPa level. The pseudo-equivalent potential temperature isolines tilt along the mountain slope, maintaining an unstable stratification characterized by warm, humid lower layers and cold, dry upper layers, providing favorable thermal conditions for precipitation. In addition, in the summer of 2020, abnormally high southwest seasonal wind and air transport, combined with strong low-level convergence and high-level divergence of the vertical circulation structure, were key factors causing the abnormally high precipitation. This study provides an important reference for the prediction of extreme precipitation and the early warning of rainstorm disasters in the southwest monsoon region in the context of global climate change.