Urbanization brings earlier onset of summertime compound heatwaves
Abstract Urbanization is revealed to cause more frequent and hotter day-night compound heatwaves, yet its impact on their onset remains unclear. This study compares summertime compound heatwaves in 722 urban-rural station pairs globally on an event-by-event basis during 1971-2017 and attributes thei...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02315-z |
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| author | Peng Ji Xinyi Zhang Xing Yuan Qibo Xu |
| author_facet | Peng Ji Xinyi Zhang Xing Yuan Qibo Xu |
| author_sort | Peng Ji |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Urbanization is revealed to cause more frequent and hotter day-night compound heatwaves, yet its impact on their onset remains unclear. This study compares summertime compound heatwaves in 722 urban-rural station pairs globally on an event-by-event basis during 1971-2017 and attributes their difference to numerous urbanization and climatological factors using interpretable machine learning methods. Here we find a discernible earlier onset (0.23 ± 0.04 days) of compound heatwaves in cities compared to rural areas. The magnitude of this influence is primarily determined by urban building volume and height rather than the artificial impervious surface fraction, and is exacerbated by climates characterized by warm night and ample daytime solar radiation. Taller buildings significantly advance onset in cloudy, warm, and humid climates, while larger building volumes lead to earlier onset of compound heatwaves across nearly all climates. Our findings suggest that cities, particularly those with large building volumes, should issue heatwave warnings earlier. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d29fbd0d00cf46d9940acb100b0d1644 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2662-4435 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Earth & Environment |
| spelling | doaj-art-d29fbd0d00cf46d9940acb100b0d16442025-08-20T02:30:26ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352025-04-016111010.1038/s43247-025-02315-zUrbanization brings earlier onset of summertime compound heatwavesPeng Ji0Xinyi Zhang1Xing Yuan2Qibo Xu3State Key Laboratory of Climate System Prediction and Risk Management, Nanjing University of Information Science and TechnologySchool of Hydrology and Water Resources, Nanjing University of Information Science and TechnologyKey Laboratory of Hydrometeorological Disaster Mechanism and Warning of Ministry of Water Resources/Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, Nanjing University of Information Science and TechnologyCalifornia NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)Abstract Urbanization is revealed to cause more frequent and hotter day-night compound heatwaves, yet its impact on their onset remains unclear. This study compares summertime compound heatwaves in 722 urban-rural station pairs globally on an event-by-event basis during 1971-2017 and attributes their difference to numerous urbanization and climatological factors using interpretable machine learning methods. Here we find a discernible earlier onset (0.23 ± 0.04 days) of compound heatwaves in cities compared to rural areas. The magnitude of this influence is primarily determined by urban building volume and height rather than the artificial impervious surface fraction, and is exacerbated by climates characterized by warm night and ample daytime solar radiation. Taller buildings significantly advance onset in cloudy, warm, and humid climates, while larger building volumes lead to earlier onset of compound heatwaves across nearly all climates. Our findings suggest that cities, particularly those with large building volumes, should issue heatwave warnings earlier.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02315-z |
| spellingShingle | Peng Ji Xinyi Zhang Xing Yuan Qibo Xu Urbanization brings earlier onset of summertime compound heatwaves Communications Earth & Environment |
| title | Urbanization brings earlier onset of summertime compound heatwaves |
| title_full | Urbanization brings earlier onset of summertime compound heatwaves |
| title_fullStr | Urbanization brings earlier onset of summertime compound heatwaves |
| title_full_unstemmed | Urbanization brings earlier onset of summertime compound heatwaves |
| title_short | Urbanization brings earlier onset of summertime compound heatwaves |
| title_sort | urbanization brings earlier onset of summertime compound heatwaves |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02315-z |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT pengji urbanizationbringsearlieronsetofsummertimecompoundheatwaves AT xinyizhang urbanizationbringsearlieronsetofsummertimecompoundheatwaves AT xingyuan urbanizationbringsearlieronsetofsummertimecompoundheatwaves AT qiboxu urbanizationbringsearlieronsetofsummertimecompoundheatwaves |