A Record-Breaking Heatwave–Drought Compound Event in Jiangxi, China, During Summer 2022

This study analyzes the record-breaking persistent heatwave–drought compound event that occurred in Jiangxi Province, China, from July to September 2022. The results indicate that this event was the most severe in the past 44 years, with heatwave days reaching 43 and cumulative precipitation in most areas being more than 60% below the average for the same period. The analysis suggests that the abnormal eastward extension and strengthening of the South Asian High (SAH), together with the abnormal westward extension and strengthening of the Western Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH), persistently and jointly dominated the Jiangxi region. This led to prevailing subsidence and warming throughout the atmospheric column, along with a divergent water vapor flux pattern, which suppressed the formation of precipitation. Further investigation reveals that this event is closely related to abnormally warmer sea surface temperature (SST) in the southwestern Pacific (with a correlation coefficient of 0.62). This may have triggered the Pacific–Japan (PJ) teleconnection wave train, thereby modulating the anomalies of SAH and WPSH, ultimately leading to the occurrence of this extreme compound event.