Meteorological Element Evolution Dataset for Northwest China, the Huang-Huai-Hai Region, and the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain from 1981 to 2020

Among them, annual precipitation, growing-season precipitation (April–October), annual maximum precipitation, seasonal precipitation, annual mean relative air humidity, annual evaporation, growing-season evaporation, effective accumulated temperature (≥10 °C), maximum temperature, minimum temperature, frost-free period, sunshine duration, and annual maximum sunshine duration each contain 12,000 records. For number of extreme precipitation days and extreme high temperature, 300 records are available for each 20-year interval (1981–2000 and 2001–2020), respectively.The notation “NA” in the data table indicates missing or unobserved values of corresponding indicators at a station in a specific year.

Taking ArcGIS as the platform and relying on the national basic geographic information base map, we adopted the spatial analysis module to conduct spatial interpolation of meteorological observations using the Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) method. This dataset provides fundamental support for exploring regional differences in climatic responses across Northwest China, the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, as well as evaluating the matching degree of water and heat resources in different agroecological zones.

It establishes an analytical framework for long-term meteorological variables in the three regions, reveals the response patterns of meteorological elements across diverse climatic zones, and offers systematic scientific evidence for optimizing cross-regional agricultural layout, adapting to climate change, and implementing coordinated governance for disaster prevention and mitigation.