Temperature variability in China, 1951 to 1996

Standard deviations of mean monthly temperatures were calculated and mapped to show the temporal and spatial variations of temperature variability in China for the period from 1951 to 1996. It is discovered that there was a d ecreasing trend of temperature variability. Thermal variability was found t o be greatest in winter and least in summer. Increasing variability toward the north was apparent in all seasons. Major differences in seasonal spatia l patterns also existed owing to topography and the effect of monsoon and m aritime influences.