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Extreme heat rooted in dry soils

Climate models suggest that deficits in soil moisture can lead to more frequent and severe hot summer temperatures. Observations confirm this effect, but only for relatively dry regions, where evaporation is limited by available moisture.

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Figure 1: Schematic of the net radiation budget at the land surface.

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Alexander, L. Extreme heat rooted in dry soils. Nature Geosci 4, 12–13 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1045

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