IMPACTS OF FEBRUARY ANTARCTIC OSCILLATIONS ON SUMMER PRECIPITATION IN EASTERN CHINA^*

Impacts of February Antarctic oscillations (AAO) on the subsequent summer precipitation in the eastern part of China are analyzed in this paper in the context of the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data and the monthly precipitation data at 160 weather stations.Results show that on interannual time-scale,the correlation coefficient between February AAO index and July-August rainfall in North China is 0.53,which exceeds the confidence level of 99.9%.When February AAO is strong,then the subsequent summer precipitation in North China is more-than-average,and meanwhile the summer precipitation in the Changjiang River Valley is less-than-average:and vice versa.Changes of AAO affect the subsequent intensity and position of the Northwest Pacific subtropical high,thus resulting in the south-north direction shift of the summer monsoon rain belt in China.