Role of Large-Scale Circulation and Terrain in Causing Extreme Heat in Western North China

Abstract Previous studies have suggested that, because of its particular location on the southeastern lee side of mountains, extreme heat (EH) over western north China (WNC) is affected by the foehn phenomenon. In this study, the EH days during summer over this region are categorized into foehn-favorable EH and no-foehn EH, according to whether there are anomalous northwesterlies over mountains, and composite analyses are performed on them. The analyzed results indicate that the no-foehn EH is characterized by an anticyclonic anomaly and a large-scale higher surface air temperature, while the foehn-favorable EH is featured by a cyclonic anomaly to the northeast and a localized higher temperature. Associated with the cyclonic anomaly, northwesterlies prevail over the mountain surface and provide a favorable environment for the occurrence of the foehn effect over WNC, which is located on the southeastern lee side of mountains. That is, both cyclonic and anticyclonic anomalies can induce EH over WNC (i.e., foehn-favorable EH and no-foehn EH, respectively). Further investigation indicates that large-scale cyclonic and anticyclonic anomalies tend to favor local descent and ascent anomalies over the lee side, respectively, through interaction with the particular terrain. Therefore, large-scale circulations and local terrain-induced winds play an offsetting role in affecting the surface air temperatures over WNC, and EH occurs when anomalous large-scale anticyclone or terrain-induced descent dominate. This study implies that attention should be paid to not only the upper-level/large-scale circulations but also to their impact on lower-level/local winds for temperature variability over the places with great topographic relief worldwide.