In view of the fact that the global change which was mainly marked by warming resulted in that the climate change rate was increased

the extreme weather and climate events and disasters were more frequent

and the risk of population

agricultural economic production and infrastructure were enlarged. A case on the characteristics of extreme rainfall in Yan’an of 2013 and its severe erosion on the terraces was analyzed which was based on years of daily rainfall data of Yan’an station and terraces erosion field measuring data. The results were showed as bellows: (1) The total extreme rainfall of Yan’an in 2013 reached 959 mm

448.8 mm higher than the mean annual rainfall (1951—2012). Rainfall from July to September reached 761 mm

which accounted for 79.4 % of the whole year and among which the maximum monthly rainfall happened in July (568 mm)

reaching the standard of million years; (2) The number of the erosive rainfall and rainstorm was much more than before and the total amount of rainstorm was large. Meanwhile

the extreme rainfall showed new changes of short duration and moderate intensity

moderate duration and high intensity

long duration

strong erosion and weak sediment transport; (3) The contiguous terraces were eroded seriously in the extreme rainfall. The soil erosion modulus of terrace had significant correlations with relative elevation and catchment area. The erosion of the moderate and lower terraces was serious and the maximum soil erosion modulus reached 54 049.50 t/km2. This study would provide the basis for the design of agricultural soil and water conservation terrace engineering

and also provide support to take permanent and temporary measures to prevent the extreme rainfall under climate change conditions.