Asymmetrical synchronization of extreme rainfall events in southwest China

Based on the complex network method, this study reveals the temporal and spatial characteristics of the synchronization of extreme rainfall events in southwest China (SWC) during the main rainfall season (May–September). Our results show the significant synchronization pattern of extreme rainfall events in SWC, which is closely associated with the convergence of warm-wet air and cold-dry air and the corresponding occurrence of extreme rainfall in SWC. The network divergence indicates a dominated direction of the net influence of extreme rainfall from the Sichuan Basin to the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, implying the extreme rainfall synchronization moving from north to south in SWC is more frequent than the opposite direction. The development of the low vortex and the north wind system usually shows a movement from north to south, resulting in the evolution of extreme rainfall events more tend to present a southward movement. The low-reinforced latitude cyclonic circulation leads to the strengthened transportation of water vapour from the tropical area to the north and converges with the anticyclonic circulation in the mid-latitudes to form the movement of heavy rainfall events from the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the Sichuan Basin. Therefore, the synchronization direction of extreme rainfall events in SWC has obvious asymmetry spatial feature due to the more frequent and stronger circulation system moving from north to south than the opposite.