Atmospheric dynamics articles from across Nature Portfolio

Analysis of global datasets indicates that dry to wet transitions in soil wetness over regions spanning around 500 km can increase the size and rainfall intensity of organized thunderstorms around the world. Therefore, observations of soil moisture could improve storm forecasts and support adaptation to changing hazards under climate change.

Warming-induced changes in extreme precipitation intensity that exceed the Clausius–Clapeyron scaling rate can be explained by a statistical shift from stratiform to convective precipitation, according to an analysis of lightning records across Europe.

In the northern Arabian Sea, excess evaporation sustains Arabian Sea High Salinity Water formation (ASHSW). This study shows that extreme precipitation events disrupt ASHSW by increasing freshwater input, enhancing stratification, and weakening winter convective mixing.

Analysis of global datasets indicates that dry to wet transitions in soil wetness over regions spanning around 500 km can increase the size and rainfall intensity of organized thunderstorms around the world. Therefore, observations of soil moisture could improve storm forecasts and support adaptation to changing hazards under climate change.

Ongoing climate change might alter the Atlantic–European jet and affect hydroclimate extremes. Reconstructions of jet metrics for 1421–2023 show that summer drought in Central Europe coincided with a poleward shift and flood episodes coincided with an equatorward shift. Recent changes (past 30 years) are still within the boundaries of past variability.

Climate strategies focus primarily on carbon, largely ignoring the destabilized water cycle that’s amplifying disasters and accelerating climate change. Slow Water projects can reverse this trend.

Humid heatwaves are often limited by the onset of convective rain, such as thunderstorms. Observational reanalysis data and climate models indicate that dry air 1–3 km above the Earth’s surface can curtail convective storms, allowing humid heatwaves to intensify on the ground. This effect is likely to be exacerbated by increasing global temperatures.