Located in the dust belt, the Arabian Peninsula is a major source of atmospheric dust. Frequent dust outbreaks and some 15 to 20 dust storms per year have profound effects on all aspects of human activity and natural processes in this region. To quantify the effect of severe dust events on radiation fluxes and regional climate characteristics, we simulated the storm that occurred from 18 to 20 March 2012 using a regional weather research forecast model fully coupled with the chemistry/aerosol module (WRF–Chem). This storm swept over a remarkably large area affecting the entire Middle East, northeastern Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. It was caused by a southward propagating cold front, and the associated winds activated the dust production in river valleys of the lower Tigris and Euphrates in Iraq; the coastal areas in Kuwait, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates; the Rub al Khali, An Nafud, and Ad Dahna deserts; and along the Red Sea coast on the west side of the Arabian Peninsula. Our simulation results compare well with available ground-based and satellite observations. We estimate the total amount of dust generated by the storm to have reached 94 Mt. Approximately 78% of this dust was deposited within the calculation domain. The Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf received 5.3 Mt and the Red Sea 1.2 Mt of dust. Dust particles bring nutrients to marine ecosystems, which is especially important for the oligotrophic Northern Red Sea. However, their contribution to the nutrient balance in the Red Sea remains largely unknown. By scaling the effect of one storm to the number of dust storms observed annually over the Red Sea, we estimate the annual dust deposition to the Red Sea, associated with major dust storms, to be 6 Mt.

Atlantic Zonal Mode (AZM) and Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) are known to have an inverse relationship, which means that the cold (warm) phases of AZM result in strong (weak) ISMR. Here, we report that the inverse relationship between AZM and ISMR has significantly strengthened in recent decades. The cause of this strengthening relationship has been investigated. We find a robust increase in interannual variability of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) over the eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean in recent decades, which implies an increase in the number of strong AZM events towards the end of the 20^th century. The increase in strong AZM events alters the large‐scale monsoon circulation over the Indian subcontinent by enhancing the Kelvin wave response into the Indian Ocean, leading to an enhanced AZM‐ISMR teleconnection. This demands a better representation of the AZM‐ISMR teleconnection in climate models for improving seasonal monsoon prediction in a warming world.

The West African Monsoon (WAM) involves the interaction of multi-scale processes ranging from planetary to cumulus scales, which makes it challenging for coarse resolution General Circulation Models to accurately simulate WAM. The present study evaluates the ability of the high-resolution (\(\sim\) 25 km) Atmospheric General Circulation Model HiRAM to simulate the WAM and to analyze its future projections by the end of the 21st century. For the historical period, two AMIP-type simulations were conducted, one forced with observed SST from Hadley Center Sea Ice and Sea Surface Temperature dataset and the other forced with SST from the coarse resolution Earth System Model (ESM2M), which is the parent model of HiRAM, i.e. both models have the same dynamical core and similar physical parameterizations. The future projection, using the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 and SST from ESM2M is also conducted. A process-based evaluation is carried out to elucidate HiRAM’s ability to represent the key processes and multiscale dynamic features those define the WAM circulation. Compared to ESM2M, HiRAM better represents most of the key circulation elements at different scales, and thus more accurately represents the intensity and spatial distribution of the WAM rainfall. The position of the African easterly jet is considerably improved in HiRAM simulations, leading to the improved positioning of the WAM rainbelt and the two-cell structure of convection. The future projection of the WAM exhibits warming over the entire domain, decreasing precipitation over the southern Sahel, and increase of precipitation over the western Sahara.

To investigate the influence of direct radiative effect of dust on the tropical summer rain belt across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the present study utilizes the high‐resolution capability of an Atmospheric General Circulation Model, the High‐Resolution Atmospheric Model. Ensembles of Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project style simulations have been conducted with and without dust radiative impacts, to differentiate the influence of dust on the tropical rain belt. The analysis focuses on summer season. The results highlight the role of dust‐induced responses in global‐ and regional‐scale circulations in determining the strength and the latitudinal extent of the tropical rain belt. A significant response in the strength and position of the local Hadley circulation is predicted in response to meridionally asymmetric distribution of dust and the corresponding radiative effects. Significant responses are also found in regional circulation features such as African Easterly Jet and West African Monsoon circulation. Consistent with these dynamic responses at various scales, the tropical rain belt across MENA strengthens and shifts northward. Importantly, the summer precipitation over the semiarid strip south of Sahara, including Sahel, increases up to 20%. As this region is characterized by the “Sahel drought,” the predicted precipitation sensitivity to the dust loading over this region has a wide range of socioeconomic implications. Overall, the study demonstrates the extreme importance of incorporating dust radiative effects and the corresponding circulation responses at various scales, in the simulations and future projections of this region's climate.

The combined impacts of projected/simulated climate change and variability on temperature extremes over a complex topographical terrain along the eastern Mediterranean are assessed in this study. High‐resolution dynamical temperature downscaling is conducted for the past (2008) and the near future (until 2050) during eight extreme hot and dry years under two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5). The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is used for the downscaling process with two nested resolutions of 9 and 3 km, forced by the global High‐Resolution Atmospheric Model (HiRAM) at a resolution of 25 km. Climate indices resultant from daily simulated temperature illustrate considerable changes in daily maximum summer and minimum winter temperature extremes during the future simulated years in comparison with the historic 2008 selected as reference and control period. While average yearly temperatures increase in both scenarios and most regions as expected, the seasonal variability is forecasted to intensify even more significantly resulting in colder winter and warmer summer conditions. Moreover, the interseasonal variability was most pronounced in the years with the highest averaged temperatures. A notable increase in the annual incidence of hot nights and heat wave events relative to 2008 conditions is also expected. The orographic complexity resulted in significant regional differences, with the most affected regions experiencing more than a doubling of extreme indices during the hottest and driest years of near‐future decades. This strong spatial variability highlights the need for high‐resolution downscaling.