The interpretation of stalagmite δ¹⁸O in terms of reflecting Asian summer monsoon (ASM) precipitation is still elusive. Here, we present high‐resolution stalagmite trace element ratios (X/Ca, X = Mg, Sr, Ba) records from southwest China covering 116.09 to 4.07 ka BP. δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C, and X/Ca values exhibit clear precessional cycles, with δ¹⁸O values reflecting ASM circulation/intensity, while X/Ca ratios capture local precipitation or evapotranspiration variations. Our results show that Northern Hemisphere summer insolation (NHSI) is the main driver of ASM intensity and precipitation phase variation, but global ice volume modulates the response magnitude of summer precipitation to insolation. During the Last Glacial Maximum, high ice volumes caused significant monsoon precipitation to decrease. In contrast to modern observations of the tripolar distribution of precipitation in China, our record is consistent with paleo‐precipitation records in southern and northern China.

Siberia and Central Asia are located at middle to high latitudes, encompassing a large landlocked area of the Eurasian continent and vast tracts of permafrost, which are sensitive to global climate change. Here, we investigated the data from 15 Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP) stations to clarify the relationship between precipitation δ¹⁸O (δ¹⁸O_P) and the local temperature and precipitation amount on the monthly, seasonal, and annual timescales. Three main conclusions as following: (1) On the monthly time scale, the variation in δ¹⁸O_P is mainly controlled by the “temperature effect”. (2) The weighted average value of precipitation δ¹⁸O (δ¹⁸O_w) exhibited “temperature effect” over 60° N–70° N. However, δ¹⁸O_w was dominated by multiple factors from 40° N to 60° N (e.g., the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and water vapor source changes). (3) The variations of δ¹⁸O_W can be attributed to the changes in pathway of the westerly dominated by the NAO at annual timescale. Therefore, it is possible to reconstruct the histories of past atmospheric circulations and water vapor sources in this region via δ¹⁸O in geologic archives, e.g., speleothem and ice core records.