The asymmetric impact of abundant preceding rainfall on heat stress in low latitudes

Bibliographic Data

ID15545253
AuthorsXingcai Liu (0000-0001-5726-7353, Chinese Academy of Sciences), Qiuhong Tang (0000-0002-0886-6699, Chinese Academy of Sciences, corresponding author), Wenfeng Liu (0000-0003-4726-7020, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Hong Yang (0000-0003-1416-0526, University of Basel), Pavel Groisman (0000-0001-6255-324X, North Carolina State University), Guoyong Leng (0000-0001-6345-143X, University of Oxford), Philippe Ciais (0000-0001-8560-4943, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Xuejun Zhang (0000-0002-2152-5418, Chinese Academy of Sciences), Siao Sun (0000-0002-6860-3639, Chinese Academy of Sciences)
Year2019
Volume14
Issue4
Pages044010-044010
Publication date2019-01-24
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnvironmental Research Letters (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326
PublisherIOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1088/1748-9326/ab018a
OpenAlexW2912775476
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited52

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

Atmospheric sciences · Biology · Climatology · Geography · Heat index · Heat stress · Humidity · Latitude · Low latitude · Meteorology · Moisture · Precipitation · Relative humidity · Tropics · Wet-bulb globe temperature · Climate variability and models · Cryospheric studies and observations · Environmental Science · Meteorological Phenomena and Simulations · Ecology · Geology

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