Increased dependency of regional drought termination on landfalling tropical cyclones
Abstract Landfalling tropical cyclones frequently occur with strong winds and heavy rainfall, providing substantial water resources. The positive impacts of tropical cyclones on drought alleviation and termination remain unknown. Here, we estimate the dependency of drought terminations on tropical c...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02564-y |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849388815950544896 |
|---|---|
| author | Yaxin Liu Xuezhi Tan Xinxin Wu Xuejin Tan Chengguang Lai Huabin Shi Thian Yew Gan |
| author_facet | Yaxin Liu Xuezhi Tan Xinxin Wu Xuejin Tan Chengguang Lai Huabin Shi Thian Yew Gan |
| author_sort | Yaxin Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Landfalling tropical cyclones frequently occur with strong winds and heavy rainfall, providing substantial water resources. The positive impacts of tropical cyclones on drought alleviation and termination remain unknown. Here, we estimate the dependency of drought terminations on tropical cyclone rainfall through frequency analyses and event coincidence analysis. Results show that ~3% of the tropical cyclone-affected areas have experienced multiple drought events terminated by tropical cyclone rainfall from 1999 to 2021. Globally, tropical cyclone-terminated drought events averaged 1.12 annually and increased significantly by 1.92% per year. Increases were especially significant in the Arabian Peninsula, South Asia, and the northwest of Australia. Rainfall produced by tropical cyclones alleviates drought events more drastically than that by other weather systems, such as fronts, mesoscale convective systems, and atmospheric rivers. These findings underscore the adaptation of precipitation changes due to shifts in the timing and weather systems under a warming climate. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-96f0c8688c7b4455b9c35a9b1f697dec |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2662-4435 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Earth & Environment |
| spelling | doaj-art-96f0c8688c7b4455b9c35a9b1f697dec2025-08-20T03:42:10ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352025-07-016111310.1038/s43247-025-02564-yIncreased dependency of regional drought termination on landfalling tropical cyclonesYaxin Liu0Xuezhi Tan1Xinxin Wu2Xuejin Tan3Chengguang Lai4Huabin Shi5Thian Yew Gan6Center of Water Resources and Environment, School of Civil Engineering, Sun Yat-sen UniversityCenter of Water Resources and Environment, School of Civil Engineering, Sun Yat-sen UniversityCenter of Water Resources and Environment, School of Civil Engineering, Sun Yat-sen UniversityCenter of Water Resources and Environment, School of Civil Engineering, Sun Yat-sen UniversityState Key Lab of Subtropical Building Science, School of Civil Engineering and Transportation, South China University of TechnologySouthern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai)Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of AlbertaAbstract Landfalling tropical cyclones frequently occur with strong winds and heavy rainfall, providing substantial water resources. The positive impacts of tropical cyclones on drought alleviation and termination remain unknown. Here, we estimate the dependency of drought terminations on tropical cyclone rainfall through frequency analyses and event coincidence analysis. Results show that ~3% of the tropical cyclone-affected areas have experienced multiple drought events terminated by tropical cyclone rainfall from 1999 to 2021. Globally, tropical cyclone-terminated drought events averaged 1.12 annually and increased significantly by 1.92% per year. Increases were especially significant in the Arabian Peninsula, South Asia, and the northwest of Australia. Rainfall produced by tropical cyclones alleviates drought events more drastically than that by other weather systems, such as fronts, mesoscale convective systems, and atmospheric rivers. These findings underscore the adaptation of precipitation changes due to shifts in the timing and weather systems under a warming climate.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02564-y |
| spellingShingle | Yaxin Liu Xuezhi Tan Xinxin Wu Xuejin Tan Chengguang Lai Huabin Shi Thian Yew Gan Increased dependency of regional drought termination on landfalling tropical cyclones Communications Earth & Environment |
| title | Increased dependency of regional drought termination on landfalling tropical cyclones |
| title_full | Increased dependency of regional drought termination on landfalling tropical cyclones |
| title_fullStr | Increased dependency of regional drought termination on landfalling tropical cyclones |
| title_full_unstemmed | Increased dependency of regional drought termination on landfalling tropical cyclones |
| title_short | Increased dependency of regional drought termination on landfalling tropical cyclones |
| title_sort | increased dependency of regional drought termination on landfalling tropical cyclones |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02564-y |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yaxinliu increaseddependencyofregionaldroughtterminationonlandfallingtropicalcyclones AT xuezhitan increaseddependencyofregionaldroughtterminationonlandfallingtropicalcyclones AT xinxinwu increaseddependencyofregionaldroughtterminationonlandfallingtropicalcyclones AT xuejintan increaseddependencyofregionaldroughtterminationonlandfallingtropicalcyclones AT chengguanglai increaseddependencyofregionaldroughtterminationonlandfallingtropicalcyclones AT huabinshi increaseddependencyofregionaldroughtterminationonlandfallingtropicalcyclones AT thianyewgan increaseddependencyofregionaldroughtterminationonlandfallingtropicalcyclones |