The most extreme rainfall erosivity event ever recorded in China up to 2022: the 7.20 storm in Henan Province

Abstract. Severe water erosion occurs during extreme storm events. Such an exceedingly severe storm occurred in Zhengzhou in central China on 20 July 2021 (the 7.20 storm). The magnitude and frequency of occurrence of this storm event were examined in terms of how erosive it was. To contextualize this extreme event, hourly rainfall data from 2420 automatic meteorological stations in China from 1951 to 2021 were analyzed to (1) characterize the spatial and temporal distribution of the rainfall amount and rainfall erosivity of the 7.20 storm, (2) evaluate the average recurrence interval of the maximum daily and event rainfall erosivity, and (3) establish the geographical distribution of the maximum daily and event rainfall erosivity in China. The center of the 7.20 storm moved from southeast to northwest in Henan Province, and the most intense period of rainfall occurred in the middle and late stages of the storm. Zhengzhou Meteorological Station happened to be aligned with the center of the storm, with a maximum daily rainfall of 552.5 mm and a maximum hourly rainfall intensity of 201.9 mm h−1. The average recurrence intervals of the maximum daily rainfall erosivity (43 354±1863 MJ mm ha−1 h−1) and the maximum event rainfall erosivity (58 874±2351 MJ mm ha−1 h−1) were estimated to be about 19 200 and 53 700 years, respectively, assuming the log-Pearson type-III distribution, and these were the maximum rainfall erosivities ever recorded among 2420 meteorological stations in mainland China up to 2022. The 7.20 storm suggests that the most erosive of storms does not necessarily occur in the wettest places in southern China, and these can occur in mid-latitude around 35∘ N with a moderate mean annual rainfall of 566.7 mm in Zhengzhou.