Back to Search Start Over

An Observational Investigation of Spatiotemporally Contiguous Heatwaves in China From a 3D Perspective.

Authors :
Luo, Ming
Lau, Ngar‐Cheung
Liu, Zhen
Wu, Sijia
Wang, Xiaoyu
Source :
Geophysical Research Letters; 3/28/2022, Vol. 49 Issue 6, p1-10, 10p
Publication Year :
2022

Abstract

Understanding the evolution of heatwaves is important for their prediction, mitigation, and adaptation. While most studies focused on either their temporal variability at individual station (or grid point) or the spatial variation over fixed durations, their daily joint evolution over space and time remains largely unexplored. Here, we investigate multi‐dimensional characteristics of spatiotemporally contiguous heatwaves across China during 1961–2018 using observational data from a 3D perspective (i.e., latitude × longitude × time). Results obtained by the 3D identification show that large contiguous heatwaves in China exhibit distinct characteristics in different geographical locations and time periods. Heatwaves in northern areas prefer to move from west to east at a faster speed, persist longer, and have greater extent and intensity than southern heatwaves, which are generally originated from the east and move westward. It is also found that contiguous heatwaves are growing in frequency, magnitude, areal extent, duration, and traveling distance across China. Plain Language Summary: Known as episodes with temperature exceeding a certain threshold, heatwaves exert severe detrimental impacts on human health. Understanding their joint evolution at both temporal and spatial dimensions is beneficial for us to mitigate the adverse effects and adapt ourselves to future heatwave increases under global warming. However, previous studies mainly focused on either the temporal or spatial changes of heatwaves rather than their co‐variability over both time and space. Here we introduce a new method, the 3D connected component algorithm, to track the 3D evolution of spatiotemporally contiguous heatwaves over China during 1961–2018 using observational data. We find that contiguous heatwaves over northern China prefer to move eastward at a faster speed, persist longer, and have greater extent and intensity than southern heatwaves, which are generally originated from the east and move westward. Contiguous heatwaves show significant increases in frequency, magnitude, coverage, duration, and traveling distance. Key Points: True 3D structure and spatiotemporal evolution of large contiguous heatwave over China are tracked by the 3D connected component labeling algorithmContiguous heatwaves in China exhibit distinct characteristics and evolution patterns in different geographical locations and time periodsSubstantial increases are observed in the frequency, area, magnitude, duration, and moving distance of contiguous heatwaves since the 1960s [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
00948276
Volume :
49
Issue :
6
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Geophysical Research Letters
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
156005048
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL097714