Soil Moisture and Hot Days Examined Globally

Scientists at ETH Zurich have examined globally the connection between soil moisture and extreme heat with measured data. Their study shows that precipitation deficits increase the probability of hot days in many regions of the world. The results will help to better assess heat risks.

For the first time, doctoral student Brigitte Müller and Sonia Seneviratne, professor at the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science at ETH Zurich, have delivered a global study of the effects of soil moisture with measured data. Their work has just been published in the online version of the professional journal PNAS . On the basis of temperature recordings, the researchers determined the hottest month for all regions of the world and then looked at the precipitation in the previous months based on the standardised precipitation index.

Their statistical calculations show that precipitation deficits and dry soil increase the temperatures in many regions of the world more strongly and quickly. Müller and Seneviratne calculated high correlations for north and south America, southern and eastern Europe, Australia, China and Japan, as well as the southern part of Africa. They also examined extreme events and showed that the mechanism has the most impact at extremely high temperatures.

Read more:http://j.mp/QSWBvF

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