RECONSTRUCTION OF WINTER TEMPERATURE IN CHINA FOR THE LAST 500 YEARS

Winter temperature in China during the last 500 years was constructed based on historical data about the freeze-up events,the heavy snow and the agricultural damages brought about by cold weathers in East China (25°N-35°N,115°E-120°E).Fisrt,the data about the freezing of rivers and lakes and those about snowfall in this region were compiled and evaluated on the basis of an ordinal scale.Then the series of freeze-up events and heavy snow were produced separately and the combination of these series was made to generate a consistent series that reflects the changes in the degree of coldness in winter during the last 500 years.Finally,a reconstruction of winter temperature was camied out at a resolution of 10 years based on a calibration of a regression between recent temperature observations and the cold winter series constructed.