Temporal and spatial variation of cloud cover in arid regions of Central Asia in the last 40 years

Water resources are one of the key factors restricting the development of arid areas, and cloud water resources is an important part of water resources. The arid region of central Asia is the core region of the current national green silk road construction, and is the largest arid region in the world. Based on cloud cover data of ECMWF, the current study analyzed temporal and spatial characteristics of cloud properties in arid regions of Central Asia between 1980 and 2019. Our findings show that: (1) From the point of view of spatial distribution, total cloudiness in arid regions of Central Asia was low in the south and high in the north. The distribution of high cloud frequency and medium cloud frequency was higher in the south and lower in the north, while low cloud frequency distribution was low in the south and high in the north. (2) In terms of time, the variation of cloud cover and cloud type frequency had obvious seasonal characteristics. From winter to spring, cloud cover increased, and the change of cloud type frequency increased. From spring to summer, cloud cover continued to increase and the change of cloud type frequency increased further. Cloud cover began to decrease from summer to autumn, and the change of cloud type frequency also decreased. (3) Generally, average total cloud cover decreased in most of central Asia, and high and medium cloud cover increased while low cloud cover decreased. This study provides a reference for the rational development of cloud resources in the region.