Climate Outlook
ASIA April - September 2007
Issued: March 2007
The IRI has prepared this experimental Climate Outlook for Asia for April - September 2007.
Of relevance in the preparation of this outlook is a likelihood that the tropical Pacific SSTs, having transitioned from El Nino to neutral conditions between January and early March, will continue to cool during the coming weeks and months, possibly remaining ENSO-neutral but becoming cooler than average and approaching the borderline of La Nina, but also possibly crossing the borderline into weak La Nina conditions by May or June. Such tropical Pacific conditions are indicated in the SST predictions on which these climate forecasts are based. See the IRI's ENSO update for a discussion on the ENSO outlook (see IRI Probabilistic ENSO forecast). Warmer than average SSTs are now observed in part of the central and western tropical Pacific, while normal to slightly below normal SSTs are found in much of the eastern part, with below normal SSTs observed within 20 degrees of 125W. Much of the equatorial Indian Ocean has slightly above normal SSTs, particularly just south of the equator. The northern tropical Atlantic Ocean shows above-average SSTs, and southern tropical Atlantic has near to slightly above normal SSTs (SSTs). The SST anomalies in the Indian Ocean are predicted to very slowly weaken over the course of the forecast periods, and those in the tropical Atlantic will also weaken north of the equator, while some mildly below normal SST is predicted to develop near and south of the equator in the eastern portion. (April-June 2007, May-July 2007, June-August 2007, July-September 2007).
METHODS -
This Outlook was prepared using the following procedures and
information:
A) Coupled ocean-atmosphere model predictions of tropical Pacific SST
covering the forecast period. Particularly heavy weighting has been
given to predictions from the coupled model operated by the NOAA
National Centers for Environmental Prediction, Climate Modeling Branch.
This model suggests a continuation of near-average conditions during the
first forecast season. The forecast for near-neutral conditions is
consistent with some, but not all, numerical and statistical forecasts
of central and eastern Pacific SSTs.
B) Forecasts of the tropical Indian ocean using a statistical model
developed by the IRI.
C) Global atmospheric general circulation model (GCM) predictions of the
atmospheric response to the present and predicted sea-surface
temperature patterns.
D) Other sources of information include
NASA's
Seasonal to Interannual Prediction Project (GSFC-NASA)
and also seasonal prediction research at COLA.
The procedures, models, and data used to derive this Climate Outlook may
be somewhat different from those used by the national meteorological
services in the region. Thus, this product may differ from the official
forecasts issued in those areas. The Climate Outlook for
April - September 2007
is dependent on the accuracy of the SST predictions. For the
tropical Pacific, these predictions can be expected to provide useful
information, but there is some uncertainty concerning the evolution of
SSTs. Spread in global SST predictions is a source of uncertainty in the
Outlook provided here. Note that even if perfectly accurate SST
forecasts were possible, there would still be uncertainty in the climate
forecast due to chaotic internal variability of the atmosphere. These
uncertainties are reflected in the probabilities given in the forecast.
It is stressed that the current status of seasonal-to-interannual
climate forecasting allows prediction of spatial and temporal averages,
and does not fully account for all factors that influence regional and
national climate variability. This Outlook is relevant only to seasonal
time scales and relatively large areas; local variations should be
expected, and variations within the 3-month season should also be
expected. For further information concerning this and other guidance
products, users are strongly advised to contact their National
Meteorological Services.
OUTLOOK -
This Outlook covers four seasons: April-June 2007,
May-July 2007, June-August 2007 and July-September 2007.
Maps are given showing tercile probabilities of
precipitation and temperature. The maps for precipitation indicate the
probabilities that the seasonal precipitation will fall into the wettest
third of the years (top number), the middle third of the years (middle
number), or the driest third of the years (bottom number). The color
shading indicates the probability of the most dominant tercile -- that
is, the tercile having the highest forecast probability. The color bar
alongside the map defines these dominant tercile probability levels. The
upper side of the color bar shows the colors used for increasingly
strong probabilities when the dominant tercile is the above-normal
tercile, while the lower side shows likewise for the below-normal
tercile. The gray color indicates an enhanced probability for the
near-normal tercile (nearly always limited to 40%). As before, numbers
and their associated histograms show the probabilities of the three
terciles. In areas with lots of spatial detail, there may not be
sufficient room on the map, to allow histograms for each region. In
those cases, some idea of the probabilities may be gained from the color
alone. A qualitative outlook of climatology ("C") indicates that there
is no basis for favoring any particular category.
Areas that are marked by "D" represent regions for which less than 3cm of
precipitation typically occurs over the season.
Otherwise, for example, in the case of
northern and central Thailand in April-June 2007
(Map A),
there is a 25% probability
that the precipitation will be in the wettest third of the years, a 35%
chance it will be in the near-normal third of the years, and a 40%
chance that the precipitation will be in the driest third of the years.
Maps of temperature show expected probabilities that the seasonal
temperatures will fall into the warmest third of the years, the middle
third of the years, or the coldest third of the years
(Map A).
The numbers for each region on the temperature maps
indicate the probabilities of temperatures to fall in each of the three
categories, above-, near-, and below-normal.
An
additional precipitation map
is provided for the first season indicating probabilities for extreme
precipitation anomalies. Extremes are defined as anomalies that fall
within the top and bottom 15th percentile of the observed records. A
priori, there is a 15% probability of being within the extremely wet
category, and a 15% probability of being within the extremely dry
category, leaving a 70% probability that the precipitation will not be
extreme. The maps indicate areas of increased risk of extreme
precipitation totals. Three levels of increased risk are defined:
slightly enhanced risk, enhanced risk, and greatly enhanced risk. For
slightly enhanced risk, there is a 25-40% probability that precipitation
will be within the indicated extreme, i.e. wet or dry. This represents
an approximate doubling of the climatological risk. For enhanced risk,
there is a 40-50% probability that precipitation will be within the
indicated extreme. This represents an approximate tripling of the
climatological risk. For greatly enhanced risk, the probability that
precipitation will be within the indicated extreme exceeds 50%, i.e. the
indicated extreme is the most likely outcome. A similar map is provided
in the first season indicating probabilities of
extreme temperature
anomalies.
Boundaries between sub-regions should be considered as transition zones,
and their location considered to be only qualitatively correct.
April-June 2007 through July-September 2007
The following tables summarize the precipitation and temperature probability forecasts:
Summary of PRECIPITATION forecast for Asia
Leads 1, 2, 3, and 4 refer, respectively, to the upcoming seasons:
Apr-May-Jun May-Jun-Jul Jun-Jul-Aug Jul-Aug-Sep
A non-enhanced probability for above or below normal is 33%.
(There is a near-normal category whose non-enhanced probability is also 33%.)
The following countries or regions out of the 55 in Asia
have at least half of their area under a PRECIPITATION forecast for:
At least At least
Substantially slightly slightly Substantially
enhanced enhanced enhanced enhanced
probability probability probability probability
(>48%) for (>38%) for (>38%) for (>48%) for
below normal below normal above normal above normal
BRUNEI DARSM
leads 2,3 and 4
CAMBODIA
leads 1 and 2
INDONESIA
leads 2,3 and 4
MALAYSIA
lead 2
MYANMAR
leads 1 and 4
NEPAL
lead 3
THAILAND
lead 1
VIET NAM
leads 1 and 2
YEMEN
leads 3 and 4
INDIA-North
lead 4
INDIA-Peninsula
leads 3 and 4
Summary of TEMPERATURE forecast for Asia
Leads 1, 2, 3, and 4 refer, respectively, to the upcoming seasons:
Apr-May-Jun May-Jun-Jul Jun-Jul-Aug Jul-Aug-Sep
A non-enhanced probability for above or below normal is 33%.
(There is a near-normal category whose non-enhanced probability is also 33%.)
The following countries or regions out of the 55 in Asia
have at least half of their area under a TEMPERATURE forecast for:
At least At least
Substantially slightly slightly Substantially
enhanced enhanced enhanced enhanced
probability probability probability probability
(>48%) for (>38%) for (>38%) for (>48%) for
below normal below normal above normal above normal
AFGHANISTAN
lead 4
ARMENIA
leads 1,2,3 and 4
AZERBAIJAN
leads 1,2,3 and 4
BANGLADESH
lead 4
BHUTAN
lead 4
BHUTAN
lead 1
BRUNEI DARSM
leads 1,2,3 and 4
CAMBODIA
leads 1,2,3 and 4
CAMBODIA
leads 1 and 3
INDONESIA
leads 1,2,3 and 4
IRAN
leads 1,2,3 and 4
IRAQ
leads 1,2,3 and 4
ISRAEL
leads 1,2,3 and 4
ISRAEL
leads 2,3 and 4
JAPAN
leads 1,2,3 and 4
JAPAN
lead 1
JORDAN
leads 1,2,3 and 4
JORDAN
leads 2,3 and 4
KAZAKHSTAN
leads 1 and 4
KUWAIT
leads 2,3 and 4
KYRGYZSTAN
lead 4
LAOS
leads 1,2,3 and 4
LEBANON
leads 1,2,3 and 4
LEBANON
leads 2,3 and 4
MALAYSIA
leads 1,2,3 and 4
MONGOLIA
leads 1,2,3 and 4
MYANMAR
leads 1,2 and 4
NORTH KOREA
leads 1,2,3 and 4
OMAN
leads 1 and 4
PHILIPPINES
leads 1,2 and 3
SAUDI ARABIA
leads 1,2 and 3
SOUTH KOREA
leads 1,2,3 and 4
SRI LANKA
leads 1,2,3 and 4
SYRIA
leads 1,2,3 and 4
SYRIA
leads 3 and 4
TAJIKISTAN
leads 3 and 4
THAILAND
leads 1,2,3 and 4
THAILAND
lead 1
TURKMENISTAN
leads 2,3 and 4
UNTD ARAB EM
lead 4
UZBEKISTAN
leads 2,3 and 4
VIET NAM
leads 1,2,3 and 4
YEMEN
lead 1
CHINA-Northwest
leads 1,2,3 and 4
CHINA-North
leads 1,2,3 and 4
CHINA-Northeast
leads 1,2,3 and 4
CHINA-Southeast
lead 4
CHINA-South-Central
leads 1,2,3 and 4
CHINA-EastCoast
leads 1,2,3 and 4
INDIA-North
lead 1
INDIA-Northeast
lead 4
INDIA-Peninsula
leads 1,2,3 and 4
RUSSIA-NEurPlain-S
leads 3 and 4
RUSSIA-WSibPlain-S
leads 1,2 and 4
RUSSIA-SibPlateau-S
leads 1,2,3 and 4
RUSSIA-Southeast
leads 1,2,3 and 4
OBSERVED CLIMATOLOGY DATA for Apr-May-Jun,
May-Jun-Jul, Jun-Jul-Aug and Jul-Aug-Sep
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CLIMATOLOGICAL AVERAGE:
TERCILE THRESHOLDS (33%-ile & 67%-ile):
EXTREME THRESHOLDS (15%-ile & 85 %-ile):
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