On the atmospheric background for the occurrence of three heat wave types in East China

Compared with daytime (occurring only in daytime) and nighttime (occurring only in nighttime) heat waves (HWs), daytime-nighttime compound HWs (occurring simultaneously in daytime and nighttime) are highlighted to exert much severer impacts especially on human health. However, the physical mechanism...

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Main Authors: Wenxin Xie, Botao Zhou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-03-01
Series:Weather and Climate Extremes
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212094722001189
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author Wenxin Xie
Botao Zhou
author_facet Wenxin Xie
Botao Zhou
author_sort Wenxin Xie
collection DOAJ
description Compared with daytime (occurring only in daytime) and nighttime (occurring only in nighttime) heat waves (HWs), daytime-nighttime compound HWs (occurring simultaneously in daytime and nighttime) are highlighted to exert much severer impacts especially on human health. However, the physical mechanisms underlying compound HWs are poorly understood. Based on the observed maximum and minimum temperatures and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data, this article addressed the physical processes for the occurrence of compound HWs in East China, where compound HWs occur most frequently across China. Comparisons with those related to daytime or nighttime HWs were also performed. The results indicate that the occurrences of three HW types are all associated with anticyclonic circulation anomalies from the upper troposphere to the lower troposphere, whereas their locations and intensities determine the configuration of atmospheric conditions for different categories of HWs. The resultant less (more) cloud cover and humidity as well as increased downward shortwave (longwave) radiation at the surface favor the warming of daytime (nighttime), conducive to the occurrence of daytime (nighttime) HWs. The combination of above conditions associated with daytime and nighttime HWs, which helps the persistence of high temperatures from daytime to nighttime, benefits the occurrence of compound HWs. In addition, nighttime and compound HWs occur with the northwestward extension of the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH), while it stays in the climatological location for the occurrence of daytime HWs. Further investigation suggests that daytime (nighttime) HWs are accompanied with an upper-tropospheric meridional (zonal) wave train propagating downstream from western Siberia (the east to the Caspian Sea). In comparison, the wave train related to compound HWs shares the mixed features of daytime and nighttime HWs, characterized by a meridional wave propagation from the Scandinavian Peninsula to East China and then a zonal propagation toward the western Pacific.
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spelling doaj.art-b2e8d979a8e04f4d969c7077c1670aa52023-02-26T04:27:09ZengElsevierWeather and Climate Extremes2212-09472023-03-0139100539On the atmospheric background for the occurrence of three heat wave types in East ChinaWenxin Xie0Botao Zhou1Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters/Key Laboratory of Meteorological Disaster, Ministry of Education/Joint International Research Laboratory of Climate and Environment Change, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China; School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210044, ChinaCollaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters/Key Laboratory of Meteorological Disaster, Ministry of Education/Joint International Research Laboratory of Climate and Environment Change, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China; School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China; Corresponding author. Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters/Key Laboratory of Meteorological Disaster, Ministry of Education/Joint International Research Laboratory of Climate and Environment Change, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China.Compared with daytime (occurring only in daytime) and nighttime (occurring only in nighttime) heat waves (HWs), daytime-nighttime compound HWs (occurring simultaneously in daytime and nighttime) are highlighted to exert much severer impacts especially on human health. However, the physical mechanisms underlying compound HWs are poorly understood. Based on the observed maximum and minimum temperatures and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data, this article addressed the physical processes for the occurrence of compound HWs in East China, where compound HWs occur most frequently across China. Comparisons with those related to daytime or nighttime HWs were also performed. The results indicate that the occurrences of three HW types are all associated with anticyclonic circulation anomalies from the upper troposphere to the lower troposphere, whereas their locations and intensities determine the configuration of atmospheric conditions for different categories of HWs. The resultant less (more) cloud cover and humidity as well as increased downward shortwave (longwave) radiation at the surface favor the warming of daytime (nighttime), conducive to the occurrence of daytime (nighttime) HWs. The combination of above conditions associated with daytime and nighttime HWs, which helps the persistence of high temperatures from daytime to nighttime, benefits the occurrence of compound HWs. In addition, nighttime and compound HWs occur with the northwestward extension of the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH), while it stays in the climatological location for the occurrence of daytime HWs. Further investigation suggests that daytime (nighttime) HWs are accompanied with an upper-tropospheric meridional (zonal) wave train propagating downstream from western Siberia (the east to the Caspian Sea). In comparison, the wave train related to compound HWs shares the mixed features of daytime and nighttime HWs, characterized by a meridional wave propagation from the Scandinavian Peninsula to East China and then a zonal propagation toward the western Pacific.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212094722001189Compound heat wavesDaytime heat wavesNighttime heat wavesAtmospheric circulationTeleconnection pattern
spellingShingle Wenxin Xie
Botao Zhou
On the atmospheric background for the occurrence of three heat wave types in East China
Weather and Climate Extremes
Compound heat waves
Daytime heat waves
Nighttime heat waves
Atmospheric circulation
Teleconnection pattern
title On the atmospheric background for the occurrence of three heat wave types in East China
title_full On the atmospheric background for the occurrence of three heat wave types in East China
title_fullStr On the atmospheric background for the occurrence of three heat wave types in East China
title_full_unstemmed On the atmospheric background for the occurrence of three heat wave types in East China
title_short On the atmospheric background for the occurrence of three heat wave types in East China
title_sort on the atmospheric background for the occurrence of three heat wave types in east china
topic Compound heat waves
Daytime heat waves
Nighttime heat waves
Atmospheric circulation
Teleconnection pattern
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212094722001189
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