Spatiotemporal Variation of Compound Drought and Heatwave Events in Semi-Arid and Semi-Humid Regions of China

In the context of global climate warming, compound drought and heatwave events (CDHEs) have exhibited a pronounced escalation in frequency since the Second Industrial Revolution, incurring substantial socioeconomic losses. This study investigates the spatiotemporal variations of CDHEs in semi-arid a...

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Main Authors: Zihan Liu, Shi Hu, Xingguo Mo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Atmosphere
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/16/5/568
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author Zihan Liu
Shi Hu
Xingguo Mo
author_facet Zihan Liu
Shi Hu
Xingguo Mo
author_sort Zihan Liu
collection DOAJ
description In the context of global climate warming, compound drought and heatwave events (CDHEs) have exhibited a pronounced escalation in frequency since the Second Industrial Revolution, incurring substantial socioeconomic losses. This study investigates the spatiotemporal variations of CDHEs in semi-arid and semi-humid regions of northern China based on daily Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and maximum temperature (Tmax) datasets. The results show that compared to the 1980s, the occurrence frequency of CDHEs during the 2010s exhibited an increasing trend increase by 20–50 times in the southern region and 10–30 times in the northern region, while some watersheds in the central part of the study area show a decreasing trend. From the 1980s to the 2010s, the percentage of area affected by CDHE with a duration exceeding 11 days/year has risen from 28.3% to 56.7%, reflecting a pronounced upward trend in CDHE duration. Spatiotemporal patterns revealed significant interdecadal disparities in both the frequency and duration of CDHEs, which are primarily determined by heatwave events pattern and the synchronicity of heatwave and drought events. However, drought intensity exhibits comparatively weaker influence. Due to the decrease in the proportion of short–duration heatwaves, the short–duration CDHEs (1–2 days) in all levels exhibited a declining trend in their proportions. Furthermore, the delayed occurrence of drought events resulted in the peak occurrence of CDHEs has gradually shifted June to July–August.
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spelling doaj-art-44eb20d76a324bbd8f19ca11253c59222025-08-20T01:56:20ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332025-05-0116556810.3390/atmos16050568Spatiotemporal Variation of Compound Drought and Heatwave Events in Semi-Arid and Semi-Humid Regions of ChinaZihan Liu0Shi Hu1Xingguo Mo2Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, ChinaKey Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, ChinaKey Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, ChinaIn the context of global climate warming, compound drought and heatwave events (CDHEs) have exhibited a pronounced escalation in frequency since the Second Industrial Revolution, incurring substantial socioeconomic losses. This study investigates the spatiotemporal variations of CDHEs in semi-arid and semi-humid regions of northern China based on daily Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and maximum temperature (Tmax) datasets. The results show that compared to the 1980s, the occurrence frequency of CDHEs during the 2010s exhibited an increasing trend increase by 20–50 times in the southern region and 10–30 times in the northern region, while some watersheds in the central part of the study area show a decreasing trend. From the 1980s to the 2010s, the percentage of area affected by CDHE with a duration exceeding 11 days/year has risen from 28.3% to 56.7%, reflecting a pronounced upward trend in CDHE duration. Spatiotemporal patterns revealed significant interdecadal disparities in both the frequency and duration of CDHEs, which are primarily determined by heatwave events pattern and the synchronicity of heatwave and drought events. However, drought intensity exhibits comparatively weaker influence. Due to the decrease in the proportion of short–duration heatwaves, the short–duration CDHEs (1–2 days) in all levels exhibited a declining trend in their proportions. Furthermore, the delayed occurrence of drought events resulted in the peak occurrence of CDHEs has gradually shifted June to July–August.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/16/5/568compound drought and heatwave eventsclimate changespatiotemporal variabilitysemi-arid and semi-humid regions
spellingShingle Zihan Liu
Shi Hu
Xingguo Mo
Spatiotemporal Variation of Compound Drought and Heatwave Events in Semi-Arid and Semi-Humid Regions of China
Atmosphere
compound drought and heatwave events
climate change
spatiotemporal variability
semi-arid and semi-humid regions
title Spatiotemporal Variation of Compound Drought and Heatwave Events in Semi-Arid and Semi-Humid Regions of China
title_full Spatiotemporal Variation of Compound Drought and Heatwave Events in Semi-Arid and Semi-Humid Regions of China
title_fullStr Spatiotemporal Variation of Compound Drought and Heatwave Events in Semi-Arid and Semi-Humid Regions of China
title_full_unstemmed Spatiotemporal Variation of Compound Drought and Heatwave Events in Semi-Arid and Semi-Humid Regions of China
title_short Spatiotemporal Variation of Compound Drought and Heatwave Events in Semi-Arid and Semi-Humid Regions of China
title_sort spatiotemporal variation of compound drought and heatwave events in semi arid and semi humid regions of china
topic compound drought and heatwave events
climate change
spatiotemporal variability
semi-arid and semi-humid regions
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/16/5/568
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AT shihu spatiotemporalvariationofcompounddroughtandheatwaveeventsinsemiaridandsemihumidregionsofchina
AT xingguomo spatiotemporalvariationofcompounddroughtandheatwaveeventsinsemiaridandsemihumidregionsofchina