A recent drier-hotter climate stands out in the context of past climate variability An abrupt and substantial change in a climate system from one steady state to another—called a climate regime shift—has a considerable impact on ecosystems and society because of the abbreviated time period for adaptation (1, 2). Recognizing the occurrence of regime shifts in climate is crucial for the timely development of effective policy responses to cope with the change. On page 1095 of this issue, Zhang et al. (3) reveal a recent regime shift to a drier and hotter climate throughout inner East Asia. The shift was detected with tree ring–based reconstructions of heat waves and soil moisture over the past 260 years.

中文翻译：

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年轮环绕着气候的突然转变

在过去气候变率的背景下，最近更干燥的气候显得格外突出 气候系统从一种稳定状态到另一种稳定状态的突然而实质性的变化——称为气候制度转变——由于时间缩短，对生态系统和社会产生了相当大的影响适应期 (1, 2)。认识到气候体制变化的发生对于及时制定有效的政策应对措施以应对变化至关重要。在本期第 1095 页上，Zhang 等人。(3) 揭示了最近整个东亚内陆地区气候更干燥、更热的变化。在过去 260 年中，通过基于树木年轮的热浪和土壤湿度重建发现了这种转变。