Atmospheric deserts

An “atmospheric desert” occurs when hot and dry air from the deserts of North Africa travels to Europe. It can be pushed over the air near the ground in Europe, which can lead to the accumulation of heat underneath, so that heat waves occur. Atmospheric deserts have for example been partly responsible for the heat waves that plagued large swaths of Europe in the summer of 2022.

Atmospheric deserts can also either suppress thunderstorms or make them particularly severe.

The research project is investigating how common such atmospheric deserts are over certain areas in Europe, what their properties are, how and why their properties change along the way, whether they are becoming more frequent, and the details of how they contribute to heat waves and severe thunderstorms.

The project was also featured in “Mayrs Magazin - Wissen für alle vom 21.06.2024”, which can be rewatched at https://on.orf.at/video/14231454/mayrs-magazin-wissen-fuer-alle-vom-21062024 until 18.12.2024 (in German).