Hurricanes as an enabler of Amazon fires

• Published in: Scientific Reports
• Main Authors: Enoch Yan Lok Tsui, Ralf Toumi
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Portfolio 2021
• Subjects: Medicine; R; Science; Q; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-96420-6; https://doaj.org/article/edb017b48e4e4770aa4e0f4d201a54b9

Abstract A teleconnection between North Atlantic tropical storms and Amazon fires is investigated as a possible case of compound remote extreme events. The seasonal cycles of the storms and fires are in phase with a maximum around September and have significant inter-annual correlation. Years of high Amazon fire activity are associated with atmospheric conditions over the Atlantic which favour tropical cyclones. We propose that anomalous precipitation and latent heating in the Caribbean, partly caused by tropical storms, leads to a thermal circulation response which creates anomalous subsidence and enhances surface solar heating over the Amazon. The Caribbean storms and precipitation anomalies could thus promote favourable atmospheric conditions for Amazon fire.