Lake records and LGM climate in China

Chinese lake status database has provided systematic geological records of much higher lake level and fresher water than today at the LGM from western China. This wet condition was significant contrast with very dry conditions in eastern China. Together with lake studies from Eurasian continents, there was a wet-condition belt from the Mediterranean and the Middle East, Central Asia to western China. Palaeoclimate simulations confirmed that the wet conditions in western China were produced by decrease of the evaporation and increase of precipitation by positive anomaly of annual P-E of 70–95 mm/a between the LGM and today. The westerlies enhanced in the strength and shifted southwards-eastwards in the position, and the low thermal conditions in the Eurasian continent creating temperature 4–16°C lower than today and relatively low evaporation, were the major two important climate conditions to yield cold-wet climates in western China.