Coupled climate responses to recent Australian wildfire and COVID-19 emissions anomalies estimated in CESM2

The climate response to the pandemic is found to be weak generally, with global-mean net top-of-atmosphere radiative anomalies of +0.23 +/- 0.14 W m(-2) driving a gradual global warming of 0.05 +/- 0.04 K by the end of 2022.

While regional anomalies are detectable in aerosol burdens and clear-sky radiation, few significant anomalies exist in other fields due to internal variability. In contrast, the simulated response to Australian wildfires is a strong and rapid cooling, peaking globally at -0.95 +/- 0.15 W m(-2) in late 2019 with a global cooling of 0.06 +/- 0.04 K by mid-2020. Transport of fire aerosols throughout the Southern Hemisphere increases albedo and drives a strong interhemispheric radiative contrast, with simulated responses that are consistent generally with those to a Southern Hemisphere volcanic eruption.