The intensification of global climate change has led to an increased frequency of extreme rainfall and temperature events, posing severe threats to China’s ecosystems and socio-economic systems. This study, based on multi-year daily precipitation, monthly surface air temperature, and daily near-surface temperature datasets, employs multi-year averaging, EOF mode analysis, Mann–Kendall testing, and R/S analysis. By selecting heavy-rain days, rainfall amount, rainfall intensity, and drought indices, it explores the spatiotemporal evolution and driving mechanisms of extreme rainfall, drought, and compound events across China. The analysis of extreme rainfall reveals that precipitation in China shows a “more in the southeast, less in the northwest; abundant in the southeast, sparse in the northwest” pattern. EOF analysis identifies two spatial modes for rainfall parameters, the “Eastern Coordination Mode” and the “North–South Antiphase Mode,” corresponding to heavy rainfall days, rainfall amount, and rainfall intensity. The Mann–Kendall test shows that some regions in the eastern monsoon zone have experienced a significant increase in heavy rainfall parameters, while certain areas in the northeast, southern China, and northwest have also undergone significant changes. By contrast, parts of the southwest have seen a decrease. R/S analysis reveals that the Hurst index is high in the eastern monsoon region, indicating a strong likelihood of continued upward trends in the future, while regions in the western arid and semi-arid zones and parts of the Tibetan Plateau exhibit stronger randomness in trends, leading to more alternating drought and flood events. The analysis of the drought index (SPI-3) reveals synchronized drought patterns in the central-eastern and northern regions, with “synergistic consistency,” “Northwest–Northeast Antiphase,” and “Northern–Central-South Antiphase” characteristics. The Mann–Kendall test indicates a “north-wet, south-dry” differentiation, with significant wetting in the northern regions and parts of the Tibetan Plateau, and significant drying in the central-eastern and southwestern regions. R/S analysis shows high Hurst indices across most of the northwest and northern regions, indicating stronger drought persistence, while coastal areas in the east are more prone to dry–wet transitions. In terms of compound events, high-temperature and heavy rainfall events have increased from northwest to southeast over the past 40 years, with southern China experiencing more than 200 days of such events. Significant changes have been observed in the eastern and southern coastal regions, with high Hurst indices and strong persistence in the eastern coastal areas. Low-temperature and heavy rainfall events are more frequent in the eastern coast and southwestern regions, with higher Hurst indices in the eastern and central regions, indicating strong persistence.
Yang et al. (Sat,) studied this question.