Dry air in the lower-free troposphere intensifies humid heatwaves
Dry air in the lower-free troposphere intensifies humid heatwaves | Nature Geoscience
Humid heatwaves are often limited by the onset of convective rain, such as thunderstorms. Observational reanalysis data and climate models indicate that dry air 1–3 km above the Earth’s surface can curtail convective storms, allowing humid heatwaves to intensify on the ground. This effect is likely to be exacerbated by increasing global temperatures.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
1.
Byrne, M. P. & O’Gorman, P. A. Trends in continental temperature and humidity directly linked to ocean warming. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 115, 4863–4868 (2018). This paper presents the convection-dynamics framework and uses it to explain amplified warming and declining relative humidity over land.
2.
Zhang, Y., Held, I. & Fueglistaler, S. Projections of tropical heat stress constrained by atmospheric dynamics. Nat. Geosci. 14, 133–137 (2021). This paper uses the convection-dynamics framework to explain why the rate of increase in moist heat is generally uniform across geographies.
3.
Schiro, K. A., Ahmed, F., Giangrande, S. E. & Neelin, J. D. GoAmazon2014/5 campaign points to deep-inflow approach to deep convection across scales. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 115, 4577–4582 (2018). This paper presents observational evidence for the importance of lower-free tropospheric entrainment to the onset of precipitation.
4.
Stevens, B. et al. DYAMOND: the DYnamics of the Atmospheric general circulation Modeled On Non-hydrostatic Domains. Prog. Earth Planet. Sci. 6, 1–17 (2019). This paper introduces the project to develop global storm-resolving models and presents the initial simulation results.
5.
Lu, Y.-C. & Romps, D. M. Predicting fatal heat and humidity using the heat index model. J. Appl. Physiol. 134, 649–656 (2023). This paper identifies heat and humidity conditions that present critical threats to human health based on a model that incorporates human physiology.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This is a summary of: Duan, S. Q. et al. Moist heatwaves intensified by entrainment of dry air that limits deep convection. Nat. Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-024-01498-y(2024).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dry air in the lower-free troposphere intensifies humid heatwaves. Nat. Geosci. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-024-01507-0
-
Published:
-
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-024-01507-0
Related Knowledge Center: Air emissions
More than 30 years after the last major update of the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Supreme Court has upended the ability of Congress to give the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies broad scope to combat air pollution, including the emission of greenhouse gases. Meanwhile, further Biden administration efforts to limit emissions face opposition in the courts.