Recent global decrease in the inner-core rain rate of tropical cyclones

Shifei Tu, Jianjun Xu*, Johnny C. L. Chan, Kian Huang, Feng Xu, Long S. Chiu

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

63 Citations (Scopus)
65 Downloads (CityUHK Scholars)

Abstract

Heavy rainfall is one of the major aspects of tropical cyclones (TC) and can cause substantial damages. Here, we show, based on satellite observational rainfall data and numerical model results, that between 1999 and 2018, the rain rate in the outer region of TCs has been increasing, but it has decreased significantly in the inner-core. Globally, the TC rain rate has increased by 8 ± 4% during this period, which is mainly contributed by an increase in rain rate in the TC outer region due to increasing water vapor availability in the atmosphere with rising surface temperature. On the other hand, the rain rate in the inner-core of TCs has decreased by 24 ± 3% during the same period. The decreasing trend in the inner-core rain rate likely results mainly from an increase in atmospheric stability.
Original languageEnglish
Article number1948
JournalNature Communications
Volume12
Online published29 Mar 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

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