Anthropogenically-driven increases in the risks of summertime compound hot extremes.

ABSTRACT: Compared to individual hot days/nights, compound hot extremes that combine daytime and nighttime heat are more impactful. However, past and future changes in compound hot extremes as well as their underlying drivers and societal impacts remain poorly understood. Here we show that during 1960-2012, significant increases in Northern Hemisphere average frequency (~1.03 days decade^-1) and intensity (~0.28 °C decade^-1) of summertime compound hot extremes arise primarily from summer-mean warming. The forcing of rising greenhouse gases (GHGs) is robustly detected and largely accounts for observed trends. Observationally-constrained projections suggest an approximate eightfold increase in hemispheric-average frequency and a threefold growth in intensity of summertime compound

SUBMITTER: Wang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7012878 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature