Research on the Extreme Climate in Middle and High Latitudes of Asia—Brief Introduction to the Content and Progress of Major Projects Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China

In recent years, the frequency and intensity of extreme climate have considerably increased, particularly in China (Yin et al., 2023b), posing increasing threats to socio-economic and life security. Chinese scientists are paying increasing attention to the extreme climate in China and East Asia. Although the middle and high latitudes of Asia are highly sensitive to climate change, they have received relatively little attention, which may be attributed to the low amount of climatic data available or the low population and economic and social development in the high latitudes of Asia (particularly Siberia). Due to the deepening of the research on the amplification effect of Arctic warming, it is extremely necessary to perform research on the effect of climate change and extreme climate in the middle and high latitudes of Asia and extend our research concern from East Asia to the north. In addition, there are many key scientific issues that need to be addressed, particularly the processes, mechanisms, and predictability of extreme climates in the region, their effect on ecosystems, and their future evolution. Therefore, the Geoscience Division of the National Natural Science Foundation of China supported this research as a major project based on a merit-based selection (the project implementation period is 2020–2024). In this paper, the author briefly introduces the framework of the project and discusses some preliminary research progress.