Abstract

Between 1876 and 1878 a large-scale drought occurred in China. This is a major meteorological disaster and an extreme climate event despite the cold climate at the end of the Little Ice Age. In this paper the dynamic evolution of the occurrence and development of the drought is reproduced on the basis of historical literature records. These were used to calculate the yearly numbers of drought-hit counties and to determine the spatial distribution in addition with concomitant famine, locust plague and pestilence epidemic for each of the three years. The persistent drought disaster spread over 13 provinces with its center in Shaanxi, Henan and Shanxi provinces, where the continuous non-soaking rain period exceeded 340 days. Conclusively, it is more severe than the worst drought (1928–1930) in the 20th century. This drought disaster of 1876–1878 took place in the descending phase of the 11th sunspot activity period and the start of the 12th period. It also happened during a spell of frequent El Niño events and corresponds with an extremely strong El Niño. Zhang, D., and Y. Liang, 2010: A long lasting and extensive drought event over China in 1876–1878. Adv. Clim. Change Res., 1, doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1248.2010.00091.