Atmospheric Circulation Influences on Summer Heat Waves in East Asia
Summary
Summer heatwaves across East Asia have become more frequent, intense and prolonged as global warming interacts with dynamic atmospheric circulation. These events often arise from the interplay of subtropical highs, upper‐level anticyclones and midlatitude jet stream variations, which together establish persistent subsidence and clear skies. Large‐scale teleconnections—from El Niño–Southern Oscillation and Indian and Atlantic Ocean sea surface temperature anomalies to Rossby wave trains triggered by tropical monsoon convection—modulate the strength and position of key circulation centres such as the Western Pacific Subtropical High and South Asia High. Land–atmosphere feedbacks, particularly soil moisture depletion, further amplify heat anomalies. Improved understanding of these coupled mechanisms is critical for enhancing seasonal forecasts and mitigating societal and ecological impacts.
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Atmospheric Circulation Influences on Summer Heat Waves in East Asia publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in atmospheric circulation influences on summer heat waves in east asia across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Western Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH): A semi‐permanent high‐pressure system over the western North Pacific that influences summer rainfall and temperature in East Asia.
South Asia High (SAH): An upper‐tropospheric anticyclonic circulation centred over the Tibetan and Iranian Plateaus, affecting monsoonal flows and regional heatwaves.
Rossby wave train: A series of planetary‐scale undulations in the midlatitude jet stream that propagate energy and affect distant weather patterns.
Intraseasonal Oscillation (ISO): Variations in atmospheric circulation on timescales of 10–60 days that regulate the onset and persistence of heatwaves.
Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly (SSTA): Departures of sea surface temperature from long‐term averages that can alter atmospheric pressure patterns.
Diabatic heating: Atmospheric heating through latent heat release, radiation or surface heat fluxes that drives circulation anomalies.
References
- Linkages of unprecedented 2022 Yangtze River Valley heatwaves to Pakistan flood and triple-dip La Niña. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science (2023).
- Different mechanisms for the extremely hot central-eastern China in July–August 2022 from a Eurasian large-scale circulation perspective. Environmental Research Letters (2023).
- Extreme heatwave over Eastern China in summer 2022: the role of three oceans and local soil moisture feedback. Environmental Research Letters (2023).
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