{"title":"Tropical cyclones enhance photosynthesis in moisture-stressed regions of India","authors":"Rahul Kashyap, Jayanarayanan Kuttippurath","doi":"10.1038/s41612-025-00988-z","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>We unravel the response of terrestrial ecosystems in India to Tropical Cyclones (TCs) originating in the North Indian Ocean (NIO). We find that about 34.6% of TCs drove greening and 65.4% caused browning response of vegetation during 2000–2020. TC-induced greening is more likely for TCs originated in pre-monsoon (100%) or monsoon (62.5%) than post-monsoon with large browning response (94%). Rainfall by TCs increases soil moisture (SM) and reduces climatic water deficit (CWD) for a moisture-stressed region, and its effective utilisation by vegetation triggers the greening response. Granger Causality reveals that TC-induced rain and greening response exhibit a maximum temporal lag of 40 days. The favourable vegetation response to TCs is a new insight as it sheds light on the complex Atmosphere-Land-Ocean (ALO) interactions on a regional scale. The findings can aid to improve climate models for better policy decisions aimed at climate adaptation and sustainability on both regional and global scales.</p>","PeriodicalId":19438,"journal":{"name":"npj Climate and Atmospheric Science","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"npj Climate and Atmospheric Science","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-025-00988-z","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"METEOROLOGY & ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
We unravel the response of terrestrial ecosystems in India to Tropical Cyclones (TCs) originating in the North Indian Ocean (NIO). We find that about 34.6% of TCs drove greening and 65.4% caused browning response of vegetation during 2000–2020. TC-induced greening is more likely for TCs originated in pre-monsoon (100%) or monsoon (62.5%) than post-monsoon with large browning response (94%). Rainfall by TCs increases soil moisture (SM) and reduces climatic water deficit (CWD) for a moisture-stressed region, and its effective utilisation by vegetation triggers the greening response. Granger Causality reveals that TC-induced rain and greening response exhibit a maximum temporal lag of 40 days. The favourable vegetation response to TCs is a new insight as it sheds light on the complex Atmosphere-Land-Ocean (ALO) interactions on a regional scale. The findings can aid to improve climate models for better policy decisions aimed at climate adaptation and sustainability on both regional and global scales.
期刊介绍:
npj Climate and Atmospheric Science is an open-access journal encompassing the relevant physical, chemical, and biological aspects of atmospheric and climate science. The journal places particular emphasis on regional studies that unveil new insights into specific localities, including examinations of local atmospheric composition, such as aerosols.
The range of topics covered by the journal includes climate dynamics, climate variability, weather and climate prediction, climate change, ocean dynamics, weather extremes, air pollution, atmospheric chemistry (including aerosols), the hydrological cycle, and atmosphere–ocean and atmosphere–land interactions. The journal welcomes studies employing a diverse array of methods, including numerical and statistical modeling, the development and application of in situ observational techniques, remote sensing, and the development or evaluation of new reanalyses.