Full Title: Escalating Wind Power Shortages During Heatwaves
Author(s): Jiewen You, Fangxu Yin, and Lu Gao
Publisher(s): Nature Communications
Publication Date: March 28, 2025
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Heatwaves challenge electricity systems relying on wind energy for renewable power. However, the global availability of wind power during heatwaves remains unknown. Here, the authors provide a global assessment of wind power dynamics during heatwaves using weather reanalysis data from 1980 to 2023. The results show the global land area experiencing wind power shortages during heatwaves has risen by 6.3% per decade, reaching 60% by 2023. Australia, Northern Asia, and Europe are particularly vulnerable, with wind power decreasing by 30–50%. Conversely, regions such as the Amazon, the Great Plains in North America, and Central Africa experience slight increases in wind power during heatwaves. 75.5% of land areas show a negative response between maximum temperatures and wind speeds. The findings highlight the growing risk of concurrent heatwaves and wind power shortages, underscoring the need for targeted regional strategies to ensure the reliability of wind energy systems under a warming climate.