This issue of Journal of Meteorological Research is dedicated to commemorating Shaowu Wang, a former professor of the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University.

As one of the most accomplished climatologists in China, Shaowu Wang devoted himself till the last moment of his life to studies of climate variability, prediction, and climate change. He made fundamental contributions to the Chinese meteorological community in the fields of paleoclimate, climate diagnosis, climate prediction, and climate change sciences. He was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the World Climate Impacts Programme (WCIP) of the United Nations Environment Programme, the deputy director of Chinese National Climate Committee, reviewer of the 2nd Assessment Report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group I (WGI), and Lead Author of the IPCC WGI 3rd Assessment Report.

Shaowu Wang is a pioneer in Chinese climate prediction research. In the early 1950s, he began to investigate long-term weather prediction (now termed as “climate prediction”) by using the spectrum analysis method, based on the long wave concept that he proposed in synoptic weather analysis. In the 1970s–1980s, with the objective of identifying useful predictors and improving the skill of climate prediction, he investigated the climate variation rhythms among different climate variables, including precipitation, sea/land surface air temperature, sea ice, the Tibetan Plateau snow cover, land surface albedo, and so on. His efforts devoted to teleconnection studies finally led to the finding of Antarctic Oscillation (AAO) in the late 1990s, by then he and his students had clearly defined the AAO mode and developed the first AAO index, which has been widely used in the international community of climate research. Since the 1980s, he has extended his research from interannual variation to decadal variability and predictability of the coupled climate system.

His research work covered multiple timescales, such as seasonal, interannual, decadal, and millennial. Shaowu Wang keenly realized the crucial role of reliable long-term climate data in climate variability and climate change studies. Based on the daily weather map, he compiled and digitalized North Hemisphere monthly 500-hPa geopotential height data and global sea level pressure data back to 1871. All these data have been extensively used by Chinese climate researchers. In the 1980s, he endeavored to collect dryness and wetness records based on Chinese historical documentary; this work, together with the contributions of scientists from China Meteorological Administration laid a foundation to the publication of Yearly Charts of Dryness/Wetness in China for the Last 500 Years. In the 1990s, he reconstructed two important time series for averaged surface air temperature over continental China: one covered the whole 20th century and the other back to the past millennium. The reconstructed data paved the way for subsequent Chinese climate variability and climate change studies, and have been widely cited by the international climate researchers.

In addition to scientific research, he made great contributions to Chinese operational climate prediction and national climate change activities, being actively involved in each year's climate prediction forum sponsored by the National Climate Center of China, and the compilation of a series of China National Climate Change Assessment Report. His contributions are remembered and deeply appreciated by later generations.

Shaowu Wang played a key role in Chinese climate variability, predication, and climate change studies. His scientific achievements have provided robust scientific basis for the establishment of the nation's operational climate prediction. As a professor, he mentored numerous undergraduate students and more than 30 graduate students; most of them are active in national and international climate research. Both his achievements as a scientist and his contributions as an educationist will be dearly remembered.

To honor the legacy of Professor Shaowu Wang, to further advance the scientific understanding on climate and climate change, and to improve the climate prediction accuracy, this special issue has been organized and is now published. As chief science editors for the special issue, we greatly appreciate the efforts of all authors of the 21 articles, who presented their latest achievements in studies of paleoclimate (centennial-scale drought, volcano eruption aftermaths, tree-ring based climate data reconstruction, and so on), climate variability (ENSO, PDO, AO/NAO, etc.), climate modeling and projection, and operational climate prediction. The new findings collected herein would certainly help to promote the scientific exchange and application of climate sciences in China and beyond, which is just what Professor Shaowu Wang expected us to do.