Linkages of unprecedented 2022 Yangtze River Valley heatwaves to Pakistan flood and triple-dip La Niña

In July–August 2022, the Yangtze River Valley (YRV) experienced unprecedented heatwaves, exceeding climatology by four standard deviations. This resulted in devastating impacts on 38 million people and caused significant economic losses. This study presents evidence showing that record-breaking Pakistan rainfall, coupled with the 2022 triple-dip La Niña, created anomalous high pressure over the YRV, leading to intense heatwaves. The La Niña-induced high sea surface temperature gradient suppressed western Pacific convection and extended the subtropical high westward. Pakistan rainfall reinforced the Rossby wave train, extending the South Asia High eastward, and creating sustained sinking motion and increased solar radiation, resulting in recurrent heatwaves.

Shankai Tang, Shaobo Qiao, Bin Wang, Fei Liu, Taichen Feng, Jie Yang, Meng He, Dong Chen, Jianbo Cheng, Guolin Feng, Wenjie Dong