Chart - Population by Precipitation Zones

The first chart displays the distribution of the 1992 population in China by precipitation zone. We have used a time-series of grid-based digital precipitation maps for China between 1958 and 1988 with an overlay of the 1992 population by county (see one of the corresponding precipitation and population maps in this application).
For comparison we have included a chart with the distribution of land by precipitation. Between 40 and 50% of the land area has precipitation of less than 400 mm per year - which is a critical level for agriculture; however only 3 to 4% of the population lives in these extremely dry areas. Typically, about 30 to 40% of the land in China has a precipitation of 600 mm or more per year (which should be sufficient for rain-fed agriculture if the timing of the rainfall is adequate). However, just 20% of the land in China has an average precipitation of more than 800 mm per year.

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