Work

The spatial extent of heat waves has changed over the past four decades

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The spatial extent of an extreme heat event influences the total exposure of people and natural systems to heat-related stresses, straining water, energy, and emergency management resources. Here, we quantify how the contiguous area of individual heat wave events varies across heat wave types, time of year, and in response to observed climate change within the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature Dataset. Across the mid-high latitudes, cold season heat waves cover areas that are 1.25 to 3 times larger than warm season events, and daytime heat waves impact 1.25 to 2 times the area of nighttime heat waves. The reverse relationship is found throughout tropical regions. Average heat wave size, regardless of type or season, has increased across most land in recent years, often by 1.5 to 2 times in the mid-latitudes. The contiguous spatial extent of dry soil anomalies and lower tropospheric subsidence events have also increased in some locations, potentially contributing to the increases in heat wave size. Heat wave size has increased by a factor of 1.5 to 2 times across much of the mid- and high-latitudes according to a surface temperature analysis from 1980-2019.

Source: Communications Earth & Environment

DOI: 10.1038/s43247-025-02661-y

Authors: Christopher B. Skinner, Danielle Touma, Mathew Barlow, Deepti Singh, Troy King

Institutions: University of Massachusetts Lowell, University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, The University of Texas at Austin, Washington State University Vancouver

Language: English

Topic: Climate variability and models

Subfield: Global and Planetary Change

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Climate action

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,490