Zhang et al. (2026) Land‐Feedbacks‐Driven Dry‐Hot Mutual Reinforcement Extends Global Compound Drought‐Heatwave Durations

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Identification

• Journal: Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-06-16
• Authors: Jie Zhang, Qiang Zhang, Haishan Chen, Yu Hu, Sidra Syed, Wenjian Hua, Irfan Ullah
• DOI: 10.1029/2026jd046466

Research Groups

Not specified in the provided text.

Short Summary

The study identifies a mutual reinforcement loop between temperature and drought (T-D and D-T processes) that prolongs the duration of compound drought and heatwave events (CDHE) beyond the influence of atmospheric dynamics.

Objective

• To investigate the physical mechanisms and land-atmosphere feedbacks that govern the duration of compound drought and heatwave events (CDHE).

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global (with specific analysis of Northern Europe, Africa, and Australia).
• Temporal Scale: Not specified (focused on the duration of long-lasting CDHE).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not specified in the provided text.
• Data sources: Not specified in the provided text.

Main Results

• Identified a dual-process reinforcement loop:
  • T-D (Temperature-to-Drought) process: High temperatures and low precipitation increase vapor pressure deficit, intensifying evaporative demand and meteorological drought.
  • D-T (Drought-to-Temperature) process: Drought reduces evaporation, latent heat flux, and soil heat capacity, raising soil temperature and reinforcing land-atmosphere feedback.
• Quantified three principal pathways that prolong CDHE duration:
  • Enhanced sensible heat flux: 0%–19% contribution globally.
  • Increased skin temperature: 0%–16% contribution (notably in Northern Europe, Africa, and Australia).
  • Surface pressure modifications affecting temperature advection: 0%–5% contribution (in Europe, Africa, and Australia).
• Identified an additional energy-related pathway involving soil moisture (SM)-evaporation coupling, which influences downward longwave radiation and atmospheric moisture advection.

Contributions

• Proposes a compound mechanism of intensified dry-hot reinforcement driven by land feedback and thermodynamic processes.
• Demonstrates that these land-based feedbacks are necessary to drive long-lasting CDHEs and operate independently of atmospheric dynamics, suggesting they must be integrated into future CDHE predictions.

Funding

Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Zhang2026LandFeedbacksDriven,
  author = {Zhang, Jie and Zhang, Qiang and Chen, Haishan and Hu, Yu and Syed, Sidra and Hua, Wenjian and Ullah, Irfan},
  title = {Land‐Feedbacks‐Driven Dry‐Hot Mutual Reinforcement Extends Global Compound Drought‐Heatwave Durations},
  journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1029/2026jd046466},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2026jd046466}
}