Performance Evaluation of CMIP5/6 Models on Heatwaves in South Korea

Abstract:

In this study, we investigate the mechanisms of heatwaves on the Korean Peninsula based on observations and reanalyzed data, and evaluate how well the CMIP5/6 models simulate the heatwaves and the associated mechanisms during historical period. We evaluate the performance of CMIP5/6 models based on the heatwaves diagnostic indices. Heatwaves in South Korea are mainly associated with the North-South and East-West teleconnection from convective activities in the Northwest Pacific Ocean and Northwestern India, which dynamically induced a favorable condition for Korean heatwave, i.e., high-pressure anomaly over the Korean peninsula. Among the heatwaves diagnostic indices for teleconnection, HWCI and IMRI show a large error in CMIP5 and CMIP6 models, but simulation performance of diagnostic indices in the inter-annual time scale was improved in CMIP6 compared to CMIP5.

This work was funded by the Korea Meteorological Administration Research and Development Program under Grant KMI(KMI2018-03411)