The interannual synchronization of the heatwave days in Korea and western North Pacific tropical cyclone genesis frequency

Abstract

This study conducted a correlation analysis between tropical cyclone genesis frequency (TCGF) in the western North Pacific (WNP) and heatwave days (HWD) in Korea during July and August for 1973-2018 and we found a strong positive correlation between them. This implied that the higher the TCGF in the WNP during July and August, the higher the HWD in Korea becomes. To examine the cause of the positive correlation between the TCGF during July and August in the WNP and the HWD in Korea, 15 years with the highest frequency and the lowest frequency out of the 46 years in the TCGF time series were selected and defined as high TCGF years and low TCGF years, respectively. According to the difference in atmospheric circulations between the two groups, in all layers of the troposphere, anomalous anticyclonic and cyclonic circulations were strengthened in the mid-latitude region of East Asia and in the WNP, respectively, which was similar to the Pacific-Japan (PJ) teleconnection pattern. The difference in the vertical meridional circulation averaged over the longitude range where Korea is located showed that anomalous upward and downward flows were strengthened in the WNP and in the latitude where Korea is located, respectively. This implied that the local Hadley circulation was strengthened during high TCGF years. Five hundred hectopascal wave activity flux originated from the North Atlantic, passed through the Scandinavian Peninsula, the North coast of Russia, and East Siberia before reaching Korea and the WNP. This spatial distribution was similar to the Scandinavia teleconnection pattern.