The most extreme heat waves in Amazonia happened under extreme dryness

Costa, Duarte; Gomes, Heliofábio Barros; Silva, Maria Cristina Lemos da; Zhou, Liming

doi:10.1007/s00382-021-06134-8

Cited by 15 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…157 Recently, it was shown that drought conditions over the southeast of Amazonia have a critical impact on the amplification of surface temperature, with the most extreme HW episodes cooccurring during extreme dry years. 154 During these drought events, warm temperature anomalies were concurrent with anomalously high amounts of incoming solar radiation, 92 reduction in cloud cover, 93 and soil moisture deficits. 158 These compound conditions probably led to enhanced land-atmosphere feedbacks that caused a reamplification of the already established conditions of soil dryness and extreme hot temperatures.…”

Section: The Amazon Rainforestmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…145 Agricultural regions, namely those dominated by rice, maize, and soybean production in Brazil, have been increasingly exposed to CDHW events. 60,144 Regional increases in the frequency of CDHW conditions from the present to the time when mean global temperature increases by 1.5 • C (2 • C) above the preindustrial levels are projected to span F I G U R E 1 Main regions targeted (red squares) by the first emerging studies 33,87,88,151,154 of the patterns, trends, and physical mechanisms triggering the occurrence of CDHW events in different regions of Brazil over the last decade. The main biomes used here to illustrate the impacts on vegetation fires are depicted in the figure . between 140%and 200% in many parts of SA, including Brazil.…”

Section: Emerging Evidence and Physical Mechanisms Of Cdhw Events In ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, this region has been recording an increasing frequency in the number of hot days since 1961 89 as well as in the number of HW events 120 . The synoptic conditions associated with HWs in this region are linked to the northward displacement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone 120 and to the intensification of the northerly South Atlantic Anticyclone, which reduces the influx of moisture to southeast Amazonia linked to the South American Low‐Level Jet 154 . Concurrent with this warming, the region has experienced three major droughts in the short span of 10 years, namely, in 2005, 2010, and 2015.…”

Section: Emerging Evidence and Physical Mechanisms Of Cdhw Events In ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, long‐term records suggest that 2015 was likely the hottest and driest year over the region in a century 157 . Recently, it was shown that drought conditions over the southeast of Amazonia have a critical impact on the amplification of surface temperature, with the most extreme HW episodes co‐occurring during extreme dry years 154 . During these drought events, warm temperature anomalies were concurrent with anomalously high amounts of incoming solar radiation, 92 reduction in cloud cover, 93 and soil moisture deficits 158 .…”

Section: Emerging Evidence and Physical Mechanisms Of Cdhw Events In ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…120 The synoptic conditions associated with HWs in this region are linked to the northward displacement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone 120 and to the intensification of the northerly South Atlantic Anticyclone, which reduces the influx of moisture to southeast Amazonia linked to the South American Low-Level Jet. 154 Concurrent with this warming, the region has experienced three major droughts in the short span of 10 years, namely, in 2005, 2010, and 2015. These extreme drought episodes were triggered by large-scale teleconnections patterns forced by warm anomalies in the sea surface temperatures of both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.…”

Section: The Amazon Rainforestmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drought–heatwave nexus in Brazil and related impacts on health and fires: A comprehensive review

Libonati

Geirinhas

Silva

et al. 2022

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

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Climate change is drastically altering the frequency, duration, and severity of compound drought‐heatwave (CDHW) episodes, which present a new challenge in environmental and socioeconomic sectors. These threats are of particular importance in low‐income regions with growing populations, fragile infrastructure, and threatened ecosystems. This review synthesizes emerging progress in the understanding of CDHW patterns in Brazil while providing insights about the impacts on fire occurrence and public health. Evidence is mounting that heatwaves are becoming increasingly linked with droughts in northeastern and southeastern Brazil, the Amazonia, and the Pantanal. In those regions, recent studies have begun to build a better understanding of the physical mechanisms behind CDHW events, such as the soil moisture–atmosphere coupling, promoted by exceptional atmospheric blocking conditions. Results hint at a synergy between CDHW events and high fire activity in the country over the last decades, with the most recent example being the catastrophic 2020 fires in the Pantanal. Moreover, we show that HWs were responsible for increasing mortality and preterm births during record‐breaking droughts in southeastern Brazil. This work paves the way for a more in‐depth understanding on CDHW events and their impacts, which is crucial to enhance the adaptive capacity of different Brazilian sectors.

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Section: The Amazon Rainforestmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Emerging Evidence and Physical Mechanisms Of Cdhw Events In ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Emerging Evidence and Physical Mechanisms Of Cdhw Events In ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Emerging Evidence and Physical Mechanisms Of Cdhw Events In ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Amazon Rainforestmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Drought–heatwave nexus in Brazil and related impacts on health and fires: A comprehensive review

Libonati

Geirinhas

Silva

et al. 2022

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

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Winter heat waves characteristics associated with downslope windstorm in south Brazil

Rosa

Stefanello

Reis

et al. 2023

Intl Journal of Climatology

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The air temperature anomaly was analysed in 16 consecutive winters from 2004 to 2019 in southern Brazil using reanalysis data and hourly atmospheric observations. In this study, 13 heat wave (HW) episodes were identified using the percentile methodology. All identified episodes are associated with the occurrence of a downslope windstorm known as Vento Norte (VNOR; Portuguese for ‘North Wind’). The VNOR is characterized by a sharp increase in air temperature combined with constant, strong, gusty winds from the north and a drop in relative humidity. The average duration was about 5 days for HW and 18 h for VNOR being than in 59.5% of the HW hours, the VNOR windstorm was also detected. The main atmospheric variables were compared during the periods of winter, HW and the VNOR windstorm. The analysis showed that HW alters local weather and climate conditions, with the more pronounced features associated with the VNOR flow. A more detailed investigation comparing the atmospheric variables collected north and south of an abrupt change in terrain altitude (400 m) revealed that the main cause of the amplification of the atmospheric variable anomalies in the centre of the state of Rio Grande do Sul was the simultaneous occurrence of HW and VNOR.

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Heat stress in South America over the last four decades: a bioclimatic analysis

Miranda,

dos Santos,

Peres

et al. 2023

Theor Appl Climatol

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The observed continuous rise in the frequency of extreme heat events in South America (SA) poses a serious challenge for public health. However, there is a lack on the understanding of the large-scale and long-term variability and trends of thermal stress in this continent. Accordingly, here we developed the first comprehensive bioclimatology of thermal stress over SA during the past four decades. Consecutive heat stress hours were analyzed using the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) from ERA5-HEAT reanalysis according to the Köppen–Geiger climate classification and also focusing on the 31 most populated cities of SA. Results show an inland/coastline contrast and a marked latitudinal northward increase in the number of hours under heat stress. Heat stress hotspots are located mostly around the Amazon, northern and central parts of SA with 26–35% of the hours between 1979 and 2020 under strong heat stress. The annual number of hours within heat stress increased significantly between 1979 and 2020, varying from + 1.16 h/year to + 8.25 h/year depending on the Köppen–Geiger class. The past 20 years (2000 forward) presented not only more consecutive hours under heat stress than the previous two decades in all the analyzed cities, but also a higher persistence of such conditions. The bioclimatology of thermal stress developed here may provide important guidelines to decision-makers for exploring adaptation strategies to increase societal resilience.

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The most extreme heat waves in Amazonia happened under extreme dryness

Cited by 15 publications

References 37 publications

Drought–heatwave nexus in Brazil and related impacts on health and fires: A comprehensive review

Drought–heatwave nexus in Brazil and related impacts on health and fires: A comprehensive review

Winter heat waves characteristics associated with downslope windstorm in south Brazil

Heat stress in South America over the last four decades: a bioclimatic analysis

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