Under the background of global warming, significant changes have occurred in the regional climate and extreme events in China. A deep understanding of the changing patterns and driving mechanisms of regional climate and extreme events is of great scientific significance for climate change adaptation and disaster risk management. This study reviewed and summarized the latest scientific advancements, and compared the consistency and differences in climate change responses between eastern and western China. It is indicated that since 1961, temperature and precipitation in China have shown an overall increasing trend, with precipitation changes displaying distinct regional characteristics. A notable feature of climate change in western China is "warming-wetting", mainly in Northwest China and the northern Qingzang plateau, while some areas in Southwest China exhibit aridification characteristics of "warming-drying". In eastern China, precipitation has maintained a "southern flood-northern drought" pattern. However, since 2010, this pattern has gradually changed due to a significant increase in precipitation in Northeast and North China. With climate warming, the frequency and intensity of extreme high temperatures, heavy rainfall, and drought events have significantly increased. Human activity, primarily related to greenhouse gas emissions, is the main driving factor behind observed increases in average temperatures and extreme temperatures. Noticeably, internal variability of the climate system has also contributed to changes in regional precipitation. Finally, this study outlines key scientific issues and challenges for future research of climate change in China.

Research on climate change projections aims to provide decision-makers with more reliable and less uncertain information about future climate change. This paper reviews the major progress made in China over the past decade regarding climate change projections, and discusses future perspectives in this field. Climate model projections indicate that both regional average temperatures and precipitation in China will increase, with the largest increases occurring under the scenarios of the highest emissions. In the future, extreme cold events in China are expected to decrease, while extreme heat events will become more frequent; extreme precipitation will continue to rise significantly in intensity and frequency; and compound extreme events will also see a notable increase, in particular the rarest extreme events, which will rise more significantly. Statistical bias-calibration, model weighting, constraint based on detection and attribution, and emergent constraint have been widely applied in regional climate change projections in China. Overall, constrained projections do not alter the qualitative conclusions of the raw model projections, but adjust the magnitude of the projected change. The observational constraint methods have demonstrated the ability to reduce uncertainty in projections across different regions and variables in China. To further advance the regional climate change projection research in China, it is essential to deepen understanding of the climate system and its feedback processes, improve the quality of observational data and the performance of climate model simulations, and enhance the application of emerging technologies such as machine learning.

Under the background of global warming, significant changes have occurred in the regional climate and extreme events in China. A deep understanding of the changing patterns and driving mechanisms of regional climate and extreme events is of great scientific significance for climate change adaptation and disaster risk management. This study reviewed and summarized the latest scientific advancements, and compared the consistency and differences in climate change responses between eastern and western China. It is indicated that since 1961, temperature and precipitation in China have shown an overall increasing trend, with precipitation changes displaying distinct regional characteristics. A notable feature of climate change in western China is “warming–wetting,” mainly in Northwest China and the northern Qinghai–Xizang Plateau, while some areas in Southwest China exhibit aridification characteristics of “warming–drying.” In eastern China, precipitation has maintained a “southern flood–northern drought” pattern. However, since 2010, this pattern has gradually changed due to a significant increase in precipitation in Northeast and North China. With climate warming, the frequency and intensity of extreme high temperatures, heavy rainfall, and drought events have significantly increased. Human activity, primarily related to greenhouse gas emissions, is the main driving factor behind observed increases in average temperatures and extreme temperatures. Noticeably, inter-nal variability of the climate system has also contributed to changes in regional precipitation. Finally, this study outlines key scientific issues and challenges for future research of climate change in China.