Emerging compound air-soil heatwaves amplify global vegetation losses.
6 affiliations
- 1Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Urbanization and Geo-Simulation, School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
- 2School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Menai Bridge LL59 5AB, UK.
- 3Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (EOAS) Thrust, Function Hub, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511453, China.
- 4State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
- 5University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
- 6Jiangsu Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Resource Development and Application, Nanjing 210023, China.
Abstract
Compound air-soil heatwaves-periods in which extreme air and soil temperatures co-occur-pose a growing threat to terrestrial ecosystems, yet their occurrence and impacts remain poorly understood. Here, we show that compound air-soil heatwaves have become more frequent (0.59 ± 0.07 events decade⁻¹), longer-lasting (0.18 ± 0.04 days decade⁻¹) and more intense (4.02 ± 0.77°C × days decade⁻¹) since 1979. These rates of change far exceed those for independent air and soil heatwaves and are driving increasingly widespread reductions in vegetation productivity. On average, ∼98.5 million km² of land experienced gross primary productivity (GPP) losses during compound air-soil heatwaves. Globally, annual GPP losses have risen by 0.61 gC m⁻² year⁻¹ decade⁻¹, which is a 30.5- and 12.2-fold increase relative to those of independent air and soil heatwaves, respectively. Climate model projections indicate that compound air-soil heatwaves will continue to intensify and expand spatially under future warming, particularly under the high-emission scenario. Given pronounced GPP reductions during compound heatwaves, their projected intensification is likely to pose an increasing threat to terrestrial ecosystem productivity. Our findings highlight the escalating ecological impacts of compound heatwaves and underscore the urgent need for adaptation and preparedness strategies to address this compound hazard in a warming world.
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BibTeX
@article{wu2026emerging,
title = {{Emerging compound air-soil heatwaves amplify global vegetation losses.}},
author = {Sijia Wu and Ming Luo and R Iestyn Woolway and Zhen Liu and Xing Li and Haicheng Zhang and Weilin Liao and Xiaoyu Wang and Manqing Shi and Qiuting Wang and Tao Pei and Xiaoping Liu},
journal = {National science review},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1093/nsr/nwag603},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42936203},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Emerging compound air-soil heatwaves amplify global vegetation losses.
AU - Sijia Wu
AU - Ming Luo
AU - R Iestyn Woolway
AU - Zhen Liu
AU - Xing Li
AU - Haicheng Zhang
AU - Weilin Liao
AU - Xiaoyu Wang
AU - Manqing Shi
AU - Qiuting Wang
AU - Tao Pei
AU - Xiaoping Liu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/17
JO - National science review
DO - 10.1093/nsr/nwag603
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42936203
AB - Compound air-soil heatwaves-periods in which extreme air and soil temperatures co-occur-pose a growing threat to terrestrial ecosystems, yet their occurrence and impacts remain poorly understood. Here, we show that compound air-soil heatwaves have become more frequent (0.59 ± 0.07 events decade⁻¹), longer-lasting (0.18 ± 0.04 days decade⁻¹) and more intense (4.02 ± 0.77°C × days decade⁻¹) since 1979. These rates of change far exceed those for independent air and soil heatwaves and are driving increasingly widespread reductions in vegetation productivity. On average, ∼98.5 million km² of land experienced gross primary productivity (GPP) losses during compound air-soil heatwaves. Globally, annual GPP losses have risen by 0.61 gC m⁻² year⁻¹ decade⁻¹, which is a 30.5- and 12.2-fold increase relative to those of independent air and soil heatwaves, respectively. Climate model projections indicate that compound air-soil heatwaves will continue to intensify and expand spatially under future warming, particularly under the high-emission scenario. Given pronounced GPP reductions during compound heatwaves, their projected intensification is likely to pose an increasing threat to terrestrial ecosystem productivity. Our findings highlight the escalating ecological impacts of compound heatwaves and underscore the urgent need for adaptation and preparedness strategies to address this compound hazard in a warming world.
SN - 2095-5138
SN - 2053-714X
ER -