Relationship between NAO and drought disasters in northwestern China in the last millennium

► We explored the NAO-drought relationship in NW China over the past millennium. ► NAO and drought were negatively correlated via the Westerlies. ► Positive NAO anomalies brought increased precipitation in NW China. ► But, the correlation was only significant in a warm climate, vice versa. ► It is caused by the shifting of monsoon, Westerlies and the East Asian Jet Stream.