Circulation Pathways of Persistent Compound Heat–Drought Extremes Over the Middle and Lower Yangtze River Vary With Tibetan Plateau Whole‐Column Heating Intensity

Abstract Persistent compound heat–drought extremes (PCHDEs) have become more frequent over the Middle and Lower Yangtze River (MLYR) since the 1960s, yet their relationship with Tibetan Plateau (TP) whole‐column heating remains unclear. We use the vertically integrated apparent heat source over the TP (TP<Q1>) to examine six MLYR PCHDEs during 1961–2022. All events coincided with positive TP<Q1> anomalies, but the associated circulation configurations differed between weaker and stronger heating conditions. Under weaker heating, with a mean TP<Q1> increase of 9.7%, the events were mainly associated with eastward expansion of the South Asian high (SAH) or structural anomalies of the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH), whereas the East Asian subtropical jet (EASJ) played a limited role. Under stronger heating, with a mean increase of 24.5%, enhanced downstream Rossby‐wave propagation and coordinated adjustments of the SAH, WPSH, and EASJ were associated with stronger regional subsidence, reduced moisture transport, and persistent heat and drought conditions over the MLYR. A particularly favorable configuration occurred when TP<Q1> was anomalously strong, and the ascending branch of the Rossby wave pattern was located west of the MLYR. Under this configuration, the MLYR was situated beneath persistent anticyclonic subsidence. Across the six events, regional maximum temperature increased by about 3.2°C and precipitation decreased by about 46.8% relative to corresponding periods in other years. These results reveal that the large‐scale circulation configurations accompanying MLYR PCHDEs vary with TP atmospheric heating intensity.