@article{fdi:010079406,
  title = {{S}aharan hot and dry sirocco winds drive extreme fire events in {M}editerranean {T}unisia ({N}orth {A}frica)},
  author = {{B}elhadj-{K}hedher, {C}. and {E}l-{M}elki, {T}. and {M}ouillot, {F}lorent},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{W}ith hot and dry summers, the {M}editerranean basin is affected by recurrent fires. {W}hile drought is the major driver of the seasonal and inter-annual fire distribution in its northern and mildest climate conditions, some extreme fire events are also linked to extreme winds or heat waves. {T}he southern part of the {M}editerranean basin is located at the driest range of the {M}editerranean bioclimate and is influenced by {S}aharan atmospheric circulations, leading to extreme hot and dry episodes, called {S}irocco, and potentially acting as a major contributor to fire hazard. {T}he recently created fire database for {T}unisia was used to investigate the +/- 10-day pre- and post-fire timeframe of daily weather conditions associated with fire events over the 1985-2006 period. {P}ositive anomalies in minimum and maximum temperatures, negative anomalies in air relative humidity, and a preferential south-eastern wind during fire events were identified, which were characteristic of {S}irocco winds. +7 degrees {C} anomalies in air temperature and -30% in relative air humidity were the critical thresholds for the most extreme fire conditions. {I}n addition, meteorological anomalies started two days before fire events and lasted for three days after for large fires >400 ha, which suggests that the duration of the {S}irocco event is linked with fire duration and final fire size. {L}astly, the yearly number of intense {S}irocco events better explained the inter-annual variability of burned area over the 1950-2006 period than summer drought based on {S}tandardized {P}recipitation {E}vaporation {I}ndex ({SPEI}) indices.},
  keywords = {fire ; climatology ; {M}editerranean basin ; extreme events ; {S}irocco ; {TUNISIE} ; {MEDITERRANEE} {BASSIN} ; {SAHARA}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{A}tmosphere},
  volume = {11},
  numero = {6},
  pages = {art. 590 [17p.]},
  year = {2020},
  DOI = {10.3390/atmos11060590},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010079406},
}