Land Use Change and Climate Extremes: Evidence from Historical Records

This review synthesizes historical evidence on the impacts of land use and land cover change (LULCC) on climate extremes. Using station records, satellite remote sensing, reanalyses, and meta-analyses, we assess deforestation, urbanization, and irrigation as drivers of shifts in surface energy balance, evapotranspiration, aerodynamic roughness, and moisture recycling. Documented outcomes include increases in hottest-day temperatures after forest loss, amplification of urban heat islands, and moderation of daytime maxima in irrigated regions. Urban-induced convergence and aerosol loading align with enhancements of convective precipitation and short-duration extremes; meta-analyses report mean rainfall increases over urban cores and 20-50 km downwind. Tropical deforestation associates with reduced rainfall at mesoto regional scales and elevated drought probability, while patch-scale clearing can trigger localized convection. Land degradation elevates drought and dust-storm risk via soil exposure and albedo changes; management practices shape wildfire regimes through fuel structure and ignition pathways. Crossstudy comparisons isolate LULCC signals from large-scale circulation variability and radiative forcing, indicating robust, region-specific modulation of heat, hydrological, and compound extremes in the observational record.