Review of Geophyics - Heat Waves: Physical Understanding and Scientific Challenges

Academic Review

Barriopedro, D., García-Herrera, R., Ordóñez, C., Miralles, D. G., & Salcedo-Sanz, S. (2023). Heat waves: Physical understanding and scientific challenges. Reviews of Geophysics, 61, e2022RG000780. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022RG000780

Plain Language Summary: Heat waves (HWs) are climate extremes of major societal concern whose frequency, intensity and duration will continue increasing during this century. This review synthesizes the physical understanding and the main scientific challenges. We discuss problems involved in HW definition, including the diversity of HW indicators, and the consideration of adaptive capabilities in a changing climate. We also review observed and projected trends and the associated atmospheric patterns in different areas of the globe, with special attention to the mechanisms and drivers responsible for HW occurrence. These act at different scales, from planetary to local, and include thermodynamic and dynamical processes. There is a limited and fragmentary understanding of the interactions among these processes on regional scales, and their changes under global warming. Process-based understanding will benefit HW forecasts at time horizons longer than weather predictions, attribution of HW trends and events to human activities, and regional climate projections. Improved technological capabilities, models of diverse complexity, or machine-learning techniques will help overcome these challenges.

Editor’s Highlight

Barriopedro, D., R. García–Herrera, C. Ordóñez, D. G. Miralles, and S. Salcedo–Sanz (2023), Heat waves: a growing threat to society and the environment, Eos, 104, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EO235012. Published on 18 May 2023.