The asymmetric impact of abundant preceding rainfall on heat stress in low latitudes
In addition to high temperature, high humidity can have significant consequences on thermal comfort of human beings. The co-occurrence of high temperature and high humidity (so-called ‘oppressive hot days’) often results in heat stress events, but the extent to which it is affected by preceding surf...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2019-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab018a |
| _version_ | 1827870684651454464 |
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| author | Xingcai Liu Qiuhong Tang Wenfeng Liu Hong Yang Pavel Groisman Guoyong Leng Philippe Ciais Xuejun Zhang Siao Sun |
| author_facet | Xingcai Liu Qiuhong Tang Wenfeng Liu Hong Yang Pavel Groisman Guoyong Leng Philippe Ciais Xuejun Zhang Siao Sun |
| author_sort | Xingcai Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In addition to high temperature, high humidity can have significant consequences on thermal comfort of human beings. The co-occurrence of high temperature and high humidity (so-called ‘oppressive hot days’) often results in heat stress events, but the extent to which it is affected by preceding surface moisture has not been fully understood to date. In this study, we examine the relations between preceding 3-month standardized precipitation index (SPI) and the number of hot days indicated by the surface air temperature (NHD-Tx) and the wet-bulb globe temperature (NHD-Wx) that combines both temperature and humidity in the hottest month in low latitudes. Results show that, in contrast with the negative correlations between SPI and NHD-Tx, which are associated with the previously reported precipitation deficit-temperature feedback, significant positive correlations between SPI and NHD-Wx are found in some low latitude areas. The probability of above-average NHD-Wx could be ∼30% higher after wet conditions than that after dry conditions in areas like southern South America, some parts of Africa, and West Asia. Hotspot analyses further show that abundant preceding rainfall has an asymmetric impact on oppressive hot days by favoring more above-average NHD-Wx. Our analyses imply that a local feedback may exist between surface moisture and oppressive hot extremes, via which the unbearable heat stress over some parts of the tropics is modulated, controlled, and/or caused by changes in the preceding near-surface humidity/soil moisture. The spatially heterogeneous patterns of the relations between preceding rainfall and heat stress confirm the precipitation deficit-temperature feedback in many areas and reveal the coexistence of surface moisture-oppressive heat stress in several low latitude areas. We emphasize the necessity of considering both feedbacks for a better understanding of the distinct roles of preceding rainfall in the consequent development of heat stress in low latitudes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:00:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-988547c99d85496389ed083d3906067a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:00:46Z |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-988547c99d85496389ed083d3906067a2023-08-09T14:39:18ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262019-01-0114404401010.1088/1748-9326/ab018aThe asymmetric impact of abundant preceding rainfall on heat stress in low latitudesXingcai Liu0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5726-7353Qiuhong Tang1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0886-6699Wenfeng Liu2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8699-3677Hong Yang3Pavel Groisman4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6255-324XGuoyong Leng5Philippe Ciais6Xuejun Zhang7Siao Sun8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6860-3639Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, People’s Republic of China; Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Ueberlandstrasse 133, CH-8600 Duebendorf, SwitzerlandKey Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, People’s Republic of China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of ChinaEawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Ueberlandstrasse 133, CH-8600 Duebendorf, Switzerland; Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, FranceEawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Ueberlandstrasse 133, CH-8600 Duebendorf, Switzerland; Department of Environmental Sciences, MGU, University of Basel , Petersplatz 1, CH-4003 Basel, SwitzerlandNorth Carolina State University at NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information , 151 Patton Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801, United States of America; P P Shirshov Institute for Oceanology , Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia; Hydrology Science and Services Corp., 920 Rockhold Drive, Asheville, NC 28804, United States of AmericaEnvironmental Change Institute, University of Oxford , Oxford OX1 3QY, United KingdomLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, FranceKey Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, People’s Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, People’s Republic of ChinaIn addition to high temperature, high humidity can have significant consequences on thermal comfort of human beings. The co-occurrence of high temperature and high humidity (so-called ‘oppressive hot days’) often results in heat stress events, but the extent to which it is affected by preceding surface moisture has not been fully understood to date. In this study, we examine the relations between preceding 3-month standardized precipitation index (SPI) and the number of hot days indicated by the surface air temperature (NHD-Tx) and the wet-bulb globe temperature (NHD-Wx) that combines both temperature and humidity in the hottest month in low latitudes. Results show that, in contrast with the negative correlations between SPI and NHD-Tx, which are associated with the previously reported precipitation deficit-temperature feedback, significant positive correlations between SPI and NHD-Wx are found in some low latitude areas. The probability of above-average NHD-Wx could be ∼30% higher after wet conditions than that after dry conditions in areas like southern South America, some parts of Africa, and West Asia. Hotspot analyses further show that abundant preceding rainfall has an asymmetric impact on oppressive hot days by favoring more above-average NHD-Wx. Our analyses imply that a local feedback may exist between surface moisture and oppressive hot extremes, via which the unbearable heat stress over some parts of the tropics is modulated, controlled, and/or caused by changes in the preceding near-surface humidity/soil moisture. The spatially heterogeneous patterns of the relations between preceding rainfall and heat stress confirm the precipitation deficit-temperature feedback in many areas and reveal the coexistence of surface moisture-oppressive heat stress in several low latitude areas. We emphasize the necessity of considering both feedbacks for a better understanding of the distinct roles of preceding rainfall in the consequent development of heat stress in low latitudes.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab018aheat extremesland-atmosphere couplingsurface moisturehumiditypreceding rainfall |
| spellingShingle | Xingcai Liu Qiuhong Tang Wenfeng Liu Hong Yang Pavel Groisman Guoyong Leng Philippe Ciais Xuejun Zhang Siao Sun The asymmetric impact of abundant preceding rainfall on heat stress in low latitudes Environmental Research Letters heat extremes land-atmosphere coupling surface moisture humidity preceding rainfall |
| title | The asymmetric impact of abundant preceding rainfall on heat stress in low latitudes |
| title_full | The asymmetric impact of abundant preceding rainfall on heat stress in low latitudes |
| title_fullStr | The asymmetric impact of abundant preceding rainfall on heat stress in low latitudes |
| title_full_unstemmed | The asymmetric impact of abundant preceding rainfall on heat stress in low latitudes |
| title_short | The asymmetric impact of abundant preceding rainfall on heat stress in low latitudes |
| title_sort | asymmetric impact of abundant preceding rainfall on heat stress in low latitudes |
| topic | heat extremes land-atmosphere coupling surface moisture humidity preceding rainfall |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab018a |
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