Severe weather disasters in China linked to solar activity during 1-1825 Common Era

Abstract Historical records truthfully document human life and environment associated with climate changes. We quantify official historical records of China dating back last 2000 years to examine the disasters due to anomalous temperatures of cold or hot, irregular precipitations of wet or dry, and floods in inland/coastal or Northern/Southern areas in four seasons that possibly linked to solar activities during 1-1825 CE (Common Era). It is found that the proportion of disaster years is positively associated with the time periods, and therefore, both the cases with high and low solar activity (HSA and LSA) leading are under study. Statistical results show that extreme cold weather occurs particularly in the Winter and Spring during LSA periods. Irregularities precipitations, including heavy rain/hail/snow and severe drought are significantly frequent during LSA periods, while floods on inland and coastal river basins tend to occur more frequently in LSA and HSA periods, respectively. The disasters owing to irregularities precipitations and floods frequently happen in Summer and Autumn, which suggests that the irregular precipitations could cause the floods. All the disasters occur significantly in the Northern China, which suggests the climate boundary of the Qinling–Huaihe Line along at about 33°N being essential. In total, all the disasters due to the anomalously cold temperatures, irregular precipitations, and floods tend to occur during the LSA periods.