The characteristics of surface energy fluxes at Tazhong, Naiman, Pingliang and Jinzhou stations from August to October 2015 and Dingxi station from August to October 2016 were analyzed using observed data obtained from the Drought Meteorology Scientific Research: Mechanism and Disaster Formation Processes of Drought in the North Region of China. Surface radiations over different underlying surface showed significant diurnal variations. Compared to the downward short wave radiation and the downward long wave radiation, the difference between reflected radiation and the upward long wave radiation over different underlying surface was more significant. The reflected radiation and the upward long wave radiation at Tazhong station were the largest, and they were relatively small in Jinzhou station and Pingliang station. Net radiation had significant diurnal variation characteristics. The phase of net radiation and the total radiation was consistent, and the diurnal peak value of net radiation over farmland was larger. The average surface albedo of three months was the largest at Tazhong station (0.27), and then at Dingxi station (0.19), Jinzhou station (0.16), Naiman station (0.15) and Pingliang station (0.14). The sensible heat flux and latent heat flux at 5 stations were single-peak type. The peak value (276 W·m-2) of sensible heat at Naiman station was the largest, and the peak value of latent heat flux at Pingliang station was the largest. The energy dissipation at Dingxi station and Jinzhou station was mainly sensible heat flux, and it was mainly latent heat flux at Pingliang station.

Drought is the most severe natural hazard affecting on human society and it exists generally in the whole global. In recent a century, the climate warming and society developing exacerbated the degree of drought influence and risk, which brought a great threat to global agriculture, water resource, ecological environment security and society sustainable development. It is the basis of fighting and managing drought and reducing drought vulnerability to improve the drought monitoring and early warning skill. In this paper, we introduce the new progress of drought monitoring and prediction operation and research in the United States in recent years, and provide an overview of the development of regional and global drought monitoring and prediction systems (DMAPS). It focuses on the scientific researches and technology improvement of drought. At last, the opportunities and challenges of drought monitoring and prediction are discussed referring to NOAA Interagency Drought task Force in 2016, which is beneficial to provide a new perspective for drought monitoring and forecast in China.

It has been well known that the triple － pattern interannual SST anomalies in the North Atlantic are principally forced by the dominant modes of Atmosphere variability，the North Atlantic Oscillation(NAO)or Arctic Oscillation(AO) ，but to what extent the North Atlantic SST anomalies can affect the Storm Track in the midlatitudes remains to be an issue． Here we estimate the response of North Atlantic Storm Track to SST anomalies by a GCM named CAM3． 0． The atmospheric CAM3． 0 was forced by the triple SST anomalies firstly，then the simulation results in winter (December to January)were compared with the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data． We found the simulation results could reproduce the anomalies of Atlantic Storm Track and Jet accompanying the AO anomalies． Conclusions can be summarized as follows:when the SSTA was positive(negative) ，the storm track enhanced (weakened) ， and the jet exit region had a meridional displacement to polar (equator) ． The SSTA may influence the storm track through two ways，one is to change the lower atmospheric baroclinicity to affect the intensity of storm track directly，the other is to influence the meridional displacement of jet firstly，and then the jet influence the storm track． The positive feedback effection between eddies and mean flow becomes severe ( weakening)when SSTA is positive (negative) ．

The characteristics of the extreme drought event occurred from 1941 to 1943 in North China and its influence were analyzed in this paper． Results show that this drought event was the second extremely arid events during the Republic of China period，and He’ nan Province was the center of this event． It occurred on interdecadal relatively warm period and persisted long time． This drought event influenced so many provinces，and disaster was so serious with locust occurrence． It made population suffer severe losses and food prices soaring as well as ecological environment deterioration．