The links between weather phenomena at widely separated locations on earth, also called climate teleconnections, are increasingly getting stronger globally.
These teleconnections have affected the southern hemisphere more prominently over the last 37 years.
Teleconnections describe how climate events such as wildfires and floods in one part of the world can affect weather thousands of kilometers away.
The region’s most vulnerable to teleconnections were in southeastern Australia and South Africa.
The southern hemisphere is more vulnerable because it is largely covered by oceans.
It contributes to more stable teleconnections and Rossby wave or planetary wave formation.
Rossby waves occur in oceans and the atmosphere.
They naturally occur due to the Earth’s rotation and help transfer heat from the tropics towards the poles and cold air towards the tropics.