Properties and characteristics of atmospheric deserts over Europe:  a first statistical analysis

Fix-Hewitt, Fiona; Zeileis, Achim; Stucke, Isabell; Stauffer, Reto; Mayr, Georg J.

doi:10.5194/wcd-7-17-2026

Articles | Volume 7, issue 1

https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-7-17-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-7-17-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 7, issue 1

Research article

|

06 Jan 2026

Research article |

| 06 Jan 2026

Properties and characteristics of atmospheric deserts over Europe: a first statistical analysis

Fiona Fix-Hewitt, Achim Zeileis, Isabell Stucke, Reto Stauffer, and Georg J. Mayr

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Nov 2025	100	24	12	136
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Cumulative views and downloads (calculated since 07 Aug 2025)

Month	HTML	PDF	XML	Total
Aug 2025	584	18	8	610
Sep 2025	1,584	38	14	1,636
Oct 2025	106	26	12	144
Nov 2025	100	24	12	136
Dec 2025	100	70	14	184
Jan 2026	330	150	18	498
Feb 2026	268	94	27	389
Mar 2026	172	88	7	267
Apr 2026	153	87	10	250
May 2026	159	65	5	229
Jun 2026	18	12	1	31
Jul 2026	90	46	5	141
Aug 2026	72	35	8	115
Sep 2026	418	69	83	570
Oct 2026	232	84	35	351
Nov 2026	61	18	4	83

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Short summary

Atmospheric deserts are air masses from the boundary layer of desert regions. This study tracked them from North Africa to Europe during a two-year period (May 2022–April 2024). They can occur up to 60 % of the time, and can span large parts of Europe. They typically last about a day, and can alter the atmosphere throughout the free troposphere. On its way from Africa the air either rises and may become even warmer and drier, or it stays at mid-altitudes and cools, or retains its properties.