Arid Zone Research ›› 2021, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (5): 1306-1317.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2021.05.12

• Applied Climate • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Temporal distribution and variation characteristics of sandstorms in Hotan Prefecture

Mamatabdulla Emer1(),Ayxamgul Mamat1,Sayran Wayli2,CHEN Tianyu1,Bupatima Aibaidulla1,Ayxam Mamattuhti1,MAO Weiyi3()   

  1. 1. Hotan Meteorological Bureau, Hotan 848000, Xinjiang, China
    2. Remote Sensing Center of Xinjiang Meteorological Bureau, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China
    3. Institute of Desert Meteorology, China Meteorological Administration, Urumqi 830002, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2020-12-10 Revised:2021-04-08 Online:2021-09-15 Published:2021-09-24
  • Contact: Weiyi MAO E-mail:htmmt@163.com;mao6991@vip.sina.com

Abstract:

Using the sandstorm monitoring data of four weather stations from 1961 to 2018, we have analyzed the temporal distribution characteristics and variation trend of sandstorm frequency and duration in Hotan. We also discuss the causes of long-term variation in sandstorms. Our chief findings reveal that Hotan has one of the highest occurrences of sandstorms in China, at 20.4 days per year. The frequency is highest in spring and summer, and the peak is in May. The sandstorms in December are the longest in duration, and those in June are the shortest. The sandstorms that occur most often are those lasting for 1-30 min. Although sandstorms in Hotan might occur at any time of the day, we found that most appeared between 18:00 and 23:00, and those that occurred in the middle of the midnight to morning lasted the longest. In the Hotan region, sandstorms can appear from 16 different wind directions; the wind speed and frequency of sandstorms coming from the western path are higher than are those from the other paths. And those sandstorms in the study region can be caused by the wind which was at the maximum average speed of 3.0 m·s-1, and 87.5% of the storms occurred while the wind has not reach the standard. Over the last 58 years, the number of annual sandstorm days, the number of annual gale days, and the annual average maximum wind speed in Hotan have decreased significantly. Sandstorm frequency peaked in the 1960s and has decreased sharply since the 1990s. The durations of the sandstorms in the 1970s-1980s were the longest during the past century; the durations have shortened significantly since the 2000s. The decline in the frequency of sandstorms in Hotan Prefecture is related to the decreasing local gale frequency, the weakening of the daily maximum wind speed, and the improvement of the vegetation cover.

Key words: the frequency of sandstorm, duration, variation characteristics, Hotan Prefecture