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Abstract:
A high rate of deforestation has occurred in the Maritime Continent (MC) during recent decades due to the rapid growth of the local economy. MC deforestation is known to have a considerable influence on the local climate. However, its possible teleconnections to other regions are less understood. In this study, the influence of MC deforestation on precipitation over southern China is investigated using both reanalysis data and state-of-the-art climate models. The results show that MC deforestation could strengthen the late winter and early spring precipitation decline over southern China during 1979–2019. The enhanced regional convection due to MC deforestation leads to anomalous northward shifting of the tropical meridional circulation, with the ascending branch at 0°–10° N and descending at 20°–30° N compared with climatological ascending (10° S–0°) and descending (10°–20° N) branches. Such circulation change suppresses the moisture convergence and the development of convection over southern China. Our results suggest that, in addition to the local effects of deforestation, a further investigation of the remote impacts is essential for a thorough understanding of the climate influences of ongoing MC deforestation.
