Intensified Impact of Northern Tropical Atlantic SST on Tropical Cyclogenesis Frequency over the Western North Pacific after the Late 1980s

Previous studies suggest that spring SST anomalies over the northern tropical Atlantic（NTA） affect the tropical cyclone（TC） activity over the western North Pacific（WNP） in the following summer and fall. The present study reveals that the connection between spring NTA SST and following summer–fall WNP TC genesis frequency is not stationary. The influence of spring NTA SST on following summer–fall WNP TC genesis frequency is weak and insignificant before, but strong and significant after, the late 1980 s. Before the late 1980 s, the NTA SST anomaly-induced SST anomalies in the tropical central Pacific are weak, and the response of atmospheric circulation over the WNP is not strong. As a result, the connection between spring NTA SST and following summer–fall WNP TC genesis frequency is insignificant in the former period. In contrast,after the late 1980 s, NTA SST anomalies induce pronounced tropical central Pacific SST anomalies through an Atlantic–Pacific teleconnection. Tropical central Pacific SST anomalies further induce favorable conditions for WNP TC genesis,including vertical motion, mid-level relative humidity, and vertical zonal wind shear. Hence, the connection between NTA SST and WNP TC genesis frequency is significant in the recent period. Further analysis shows that the interdecadal change in the connection between spring NTA SST and following summer–fall WNP TC genesis frequency may be related to the climatological SST change over the NTA region.

Characteristics of change in the Antarctic sea ice area and its relation to SST in the tropical Pacific

In this paper, the characteristics of change in the Antarctic sea ice area are analysed by using the observed data from 1973 1986. The analysed results show that the monthly and annual change of the Antarctic sea ice area is obvious, the biggest change value is in 160°E 120°W and 60°W 100°E, the smallest value is in 110°E 160°E and 120°W 60°W. The relation between the Antarctic sea ice area and the Sea Surface Temperature(SST) in tropical Pacific is close, and the relation between the Antarctic sea ice area in each longitude belt and SST in tropical Pacific shows a clear difference. It is obvious that the Antarctic sea ice areas in 0° 90°E and 100°E 110°W have a different feedbacking relation with SST in the tropical Pacific. The notable relationship occurs in the 3 4 and 41 45 months, that quite tallies with the occurrence of El Nino.

Contributions of tropical-extratropical oceans to the prediction skill of ENSO after 2000

The skill of most ENSO prediction models has declined significantly since 2000.This decline may be due to a weakening of the correlation between tropical predictors and ENSO.Moreover,the effects of extratropical ocean variability on ENSO have increased during this period.To improve ENSO predictability,the authors investigate the influence of the extratropical Atlantic and Pacific oceans on ENSO during the pre-2000 and post-2000 periods,and find that the influence of the northern tropical Atlantic sea surface temperature(NTA SST)on ENSO has significantly increased since 2000.Furthermore,there is a much earlier and stronger correlation between NTA SST and ENSO over the central-eastern Pacific during June-July-August in the post-2000 period compared with the pre-2000 period.The extratropical Pacific SST predictors for ENSO retain an approximate 10-month lead time after 2000.The authors use SST signals in the extratropical Atlantic and Pacific to predict ENSO using a statistical prediction model.This results in a significant improvement in ENSO prediction skill and an obvious decrease in the spring predictability barrier phenomenon of ENSO.These results indicate that extratropical Atlantic and Pacific SSTs can make substantial contributions to ENSO prediction,and can be used to enhance ENSO predictability after 2000.

Impact of Atmospheric and Oceanic Conditions on the Frequency and Genesis Location of Tropical Cyclones over the Western North Pacific in 2004 and 2010

This study examines the impact of atmospheric and oceanic conditions during May–August of 2004 and 2010 on the frequency and genesis location of tropical cyclones over the western North Pacific. Using the WRF model, four numerical experiments were carried out based on different atmospheric conditions and SST forcing. The numerical experiments indicated that changes in atmospheric and oceanic conditions greatly affect tropical cyclone activity, and the roles of atmospheric conditions are slightly greater than oceanic conditions. Specifically, the total number of tropical cyclones was found to be mostly affected by atmospheric conditions, while the distribution of tropical cyclone genesis locations was mainly related to oceanic conditions, especially the distribution of SST. In 2010, a warmer SST occurred west of 140°E, with a colder SST east of 140°E. On the one hand, the easterly flow was enhanced through the effect of the increase in the zonal SST gradient.The strengthened easterly flow led to an anomalous boundary layer divergence over the region to the east of 140°E, which suppressed the formation of tropical cyclones over this region. On the other hand, the colder SST over the region to the east of 140°E led to a colder low-level air temperature, which resulted in decreased CAPE and static instability energy. The decrease in thermodynamic energy restricted the generation of tropical cyclones over the same region.

The Drought of Amazonia in 2023-2024

The Amazon basin has experienced an extreme drought that started in the austral summer of 2022-23 and extends into 2024. This drought started earlier than other previous droughts. Although some rain fell during the austral summer, totals remained below average. Higher temperatures during austral winter and spring 2023, which affected most of Central South America, then aggravated drought conditions. This coincided with an intense El Niño and abnormally warm tropical North Atlantic Ocean temperatures since mid-2023. Decreased rainfall across the Amazon basin, negative anomalies in evapotranspiration (derived from latent heat) and soil moisture indicators, as well as increased temperatures during the dry-to-wet transition season, September-October-November (SON) 2023, combined to delay the onset of the wet season in the hydrological year 2023-24 by nearly two months and caused it to be uncharacteristically weak. SON 2023 registered a precipitation deficit of the order of 50 to 100 mm/month, and temperatures +3˚C higher than usual in Amazonia, leading to reduced evapotranspiration and soil moisture indicators. These processes, in turn, determined an exceptionally late onset and a lengthening of the dry season, affecting the 2023-2024 hydrological year. These changes were aggravated by a heat wave from June to December 2023. Drought-heat compound events and their consequences are the most critical natural threats to society. River levels reached record lows, or dried up completely, affecting Amazonian ecosystems. Increased risk of wildfires is another concern exacerbated by these conditions.

The Response of Geopotential Height Anomalies to El Niño and La Niña Conditions and Their Implications to Seasonal Rainfall Variability over the Horn of Africa

In this study, we unveil atmospheric circulation anomalies associated with the large-scale tropical teleconnections using National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis dataset. Composite analyses have been performed to know the impact of large-scale tropical circulations on the Horn of Africa. The composite analysis performed at the geopotential height of 850 Mb and 200 Mb, and precipitation rate (mm/day) during six strong El Niño and La Niña episodes revealed that the large-scale tropical variability induced climate anomalies in space and time. A substantial decrease in upper-level height (200 Mb) has been observed in the study area during El Niño composite years as compared to the La Niña years. During El Niño conditions, the upper-level divergence initiates low-level vertical motion, thereby enhancing convection, however, during La Niña composite years, nearly contrasting situations are noticed in Belg (February to May) season in Ethiopia. However, geopotential height anomalies at 850 Mb are above-normal during the strong El Niño years, suggesting suppressed convection due to vertical shrinking and enhancement of divergence at the lower level. Compared to the Belg (February to May), geopotential anomalies were generally positive during the Kiremt (June to September) season, thereby suppressing the rainfall, particularly in Southern Ethiopia and Northern Part of Kenya. In contrast, an increase in rainfall was observed during the Belg season (February to May).

Simulated Relationship between Wintertime ENSO and East Asian Summer Rainfall: From CMIP3 to CMIP6

El Niño-Southern Oscillation(ENSO)events have a strong influence on East Asian summer rainfall(EASR).This paper investigates the simulated ENSO-EASR relationship in CMIP6 models and compares the results with those in CMIP3 and CMIP5 models.In general,the CMIP6 models show almost no appreciable progress in representing the ENSO-EASR relationship compared with the CMIP5 models.The correlation coefficients in the CMIP6 models are relatively smaller and exhibit a slightly greater intermodel diversity than those in the CMIP5 models.Three physical processes related to the delayed effect of ENSO on EASR are further analyzed.Results show that,firstly,the relationships between ENSO and the tropical Indian Ocean(TIO)sea surface temperature(SST)in the CMIP6 models are more realistic,stronger,and have less intermodel diversity than those in the CMIP3 and CMIP5 models.Secondly,the teleconnections between the TIO SST and Philippine Sea convection(PSC)in the CMIP6 models are almost the same as those in the CMIP5 models,and stronger than those in the CMIP3 models.Finally,the CMIP3,CMIP5,and CMIP6 models exhibit essentially identical capabilities in representing the PSC-EASR relationship.Almost all the three generations of models underestimate the ENSO-EASR,TIO SST-PSC,and PSC-EASR relationships.Moreover,almost all the CMIP6 models that successfully capture the significant TIO SST-PSC relationship realistically simulate the ENSO-EASR relationship and vice versa,which is,however,not the case in the CMIP5 models.

Enhanced correlation between ENSO and western North Pacific monsoon during boreal summer around the 1990s

The correlation between summertime Nino3.4 index and western North Pacific(WNP)summer monsoon index has strikingly enhanced since the early 1990 s,with nonsignificant correlation before the early1990 s but significant correlation afterward.This observed interdecadal change around the 1990 s may be associated with more frequent occurrences of central Pacific(CP)El Nino and the interdecadal changes in ENSO-associated SST anomalies.During the post-1990 s period(the pre-1990 s period),highly noticeable tropical Atlantic(Indian)Ocean SST anomalies tend to co-occur with the summertime Nino3.4 SST anomalies.The concurrent tropical Atlantic(Indian)Ocean SST anomalies could constructively reinforce(destructively mitigate)the WNP monsoon circulation anomalies induced by the summertime Nino3.4 SST,thus boosting(muting)the correlation between summertime Nino3.4 SST and WNP monsoon.In addition,the faster decaying pace of preceding-winter El Nino after the 1990 s,which may have been mainly induced by the influences from the spring tropical North Atlantic SST anomalies,could also have contributed to the enhanced correlation between the summertime Nino3.4 index and WNP monsoon.These results suggest that the enhanced influences from the tropical Atlantic SST may have triggered the intensified correlation between summertime ENSO and WNP monsoon since the early 1990 s.

A DYNAMIC MODE FOR RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FLOOD/DROUGHT IN YANGTZE RIVER VALLEY AND LOW FREQUENCY WAVE ORIGINATED FROM TROPICAL SEA AREA

According to statistic analysis on sea surface temperature(SST)anomaly features in the North Pacific in winters and springs prior to the summer flood/drought in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River(hereafter referred to as MLRY),a strong signal SST key area that affects local flood/drought is put forward,that is the equatorial eastern Pacific.The response of general circulation in the Northern Hemisphere to SST anomaly in the key area is further investigated. The low frequency wave train structure of correlation between the eastern Pacific SST and the height at 500 hPa in the Northern Hemisphere is also studied,which reflects the dynamic features of teleresponse of local flood/drought at extratropics to tropical SST anomaly. Through introducing SST anomaly in the strong signal area in numerical experiments,the flood in Yangtze River Valley is successfully simulated and the similar wave train pattern in the flow field is obtained too.Altogether,the physical picture and dynamic mode of the flood in the Yangtze River Valley are described in this work.

Recent Weakening in Interannual Variability of Mean Tropical Cyclogenesis Latitude over the Western North Pacific during Boreal Summer

The intensity of the interannual variability(IIV)of the mean tropical cyclone(TC)genesis latitude over the western North Pacific(WNP)has been weakening significantly since the late 1990 s.It is found that the IIV of the mean TC genesis latitude depends largely on the strength of the out-of-phase relationship between TC genesis numbers in the north(north of 15°N)and south(south of 15°N)of the WNP.A weaker(stronger)north–south TC see-saw has led to a smaller(larger)IIV of the mean TC genesis latitude after(before)the late 1990 s.Different configurations of sea surface temperature(SST)anomalies are found to be responsible for the decadal changes in the north–south TC see-saw and dipole structure.Before the late 1990 s,the joint effect of SST anomalies over the tropical Pacific and tropical North Indian Ocean dominated,rendering the obvious north–south TC see-saw and larger IIV of the mean TC genesis latitude.After the late 1990 s,however,the dominant SST anomalies associated with TC genesis shift to the tropical central Pacific(CP)and tropical North Atlantic Ocean,which have weakened the north–south TC seesaw and reduced the IIV of the mean TC genesis latitude.These observed decadal changes in the configuration of SST anomalies are considered to be closely associated with the shift of the El Ni?o–Southern Oscillation(ENSO)from eastern Pacific(EP)type to the CP type during the recent decades.The results suggest that the increased influences from the tropical Atlantic Ocean have become more important to the variations of TC activity in the WNP during the recent decades.These results may have important implications for assessing the latitudinal distributions of TC-induced hazards.