The record-breaking 2022 long-lasting marine heatwaves in the East China Sea

Abstract

In 2022, record-breaking long-lasting marine heatwaves (MHWs) occurred in the East China Sea (ECS), which persisted for 62 d during boreal summer. This exceeded the average MHWs duration of 10 d by a factor of 6. In addition, 2022 was also recorded as a year of many extreme events throughout Asia, such as summer floods in China and Pakistan, droughts and extreme heat in Europe, raising the question of whether they were caused by a ‘triple-dip’ La Niña, which has persisted since September 2020. Here we examine the key local and remote processes that led to the 2022 MHWs in the ECS using mixed-layer heat budget analysis. During the onset of the MHWs, a salinity-stratified shallow mixed-layer due to the large river discharge from the Yangtze–Huaihe River floods in June created favorable conditions for warm ocean temperature in the ECS. Simultaneously, an anomalous anticyclone maintained by the stationary Rossby wave, which is generated by vorticity forcings in mid-latitudes and thermal forcing in Pakistan, settled in the corresponding region and led to the long-lasting MHWs until Typhoon Hinnamnor began to dissipate the wave in early September. This study improves our understanding of the physical mechanism of flood-related MHWs that have increased with recent climate change.