Dataset of high temperature extremes over major land areas of the Belt and Road during 1979-2018

In this paper, we focus on the major land areas of the Belt and Road (BR) Initiative and produce a dataset of high temperature extremes including three subdatasets of hot days, hot nights and combined hot extremes based on different thresholds for hot days, hot nights and combined hot extremes using Climate Prediction Center (CPC) gridded daily temperature data at a resolution of 0.5° during 1979-2018. Hot days are defined as the days during which daily maximum surface air temperature (Tmax) ≥ 28℃, 30℃, 32℃, 35℃, 38℃, or 40℃ in a specific year while hot nights occur with daily minimum surface air temperature (Tmin) ≥ 20℃, 25℃, or 30℃.

The combined hot extremes are computed when Tmax ≥ 30℃ and Tmin ≥ 20℃, Tmax ≥ 35℃ and Tmin ≥ 25℃ or Tmax ≥ 40℃ and Tmin ≥ 30℃. The validation with China Meteorological Administration (CMA) data over eastern China for the period of 1979-2011 indicates that the dataset can capture the spatial distribution and magnitude of hot temperature extremes well.