Extreme weather events, ranging from blistering heatwaves to abnormally heavy downpours, have caused extensive disturbance around the world this year, killing hundreds and displacing millions.
Monsoon rains have caused devastating flooding in Bangladesh, while violent heatwaves have scorched sections of South Asia and Europe in the previous three months. Meanwhile, in East Africa, a prolonged drought has pushed millions to the verge of hunger.
According to scientists, much of this is to be expected as a result of climate change.
A group of climate experts released a report in the journal Environmental Research: Climate on Tuesday. Over the last two decades, the researchers examined the role of climate change in particular weather events.
The findings both corroborate and clarify previous warnings about how global warming will transform our world.
"We find we have a much better grasp of how the intensity of these occurrences is evolving owing to climate change," said study co-author and Victoria University of Wellington climate scientist Luke Harrington.
What is less clear is how climate change affects wildfires and drought.
Scientists rely on hundreds of "attribution" studies for their review study, which try to assess how climate change caused a severe event using computer simulations and weather measurements.
Many low- and middle-income nations also have major data gaps, making it difficult to comprehend what's going on in such areas, according to co-author Friederike Otto, one of the climatologists directing the international research partnership World Weather Attribution (WWA).
Heatwaves are almost certainly being exacerbated by climate change.
"Pretty much all heatwaves across the world have been made more intense and more likely by climate change," said study co-author Ben Clarke, an environmental scientist at the University of Oxford.
In general, a heatwave that had a one-in-ten probability of occurring is now about three times more likely to occur — and will peak at temperatures around one degree Celsius higher — than it would have been without climate change.
According to WWA, climate change made an April heatwave in India and Pakistan that saw temperatures rise beyond 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) 30 times more likely. more info
Heatwaves in the Northern Hemisphere from Europe to the United States in June emphasise "exactly what our review article reveals... the frequency of heatwaves has increased so much," Otto said.
Following heavy rains, China saw widespread flooding last week. At the same time, Bangladesh had a flood-related inundation.
In general, heavy rainfall is becoming more common and intense. Because warmer air stores more moisture, storm clouds are "heavier" before breaking up.
Nonetheless, the study found that the impact varies by region, with some areas not receiving enough rain.
Scientists are having a more difficult time determining how climate change affects drought.
Some areas have been experiencing persistent dryness. Warmer temperatures in the United States' West, for example, are melting the snowpack faster and increasing evaporation, according to the study.
While East African droughts have yet to be directly linked to climate change, experts believe the drop in the spring rainy season is linked to warmer Indian Ocean waters. As a result, rain falls quickly over the ocean before reaching the land.
Heatwaves and dryness are also exacerbating wildfires, particularly megafires (fires that burn more than 100,000 acres).
According to the US Forest Service, a controlled fire set under "far drier conditions than anticipated" went out of control in the US state of New Mexico in April. The fires consumed 341,000 acres of land.
Storm frequency has not increased on a worldwide scale. According to the study, cyclones are becoming more common in the central Pacific and North Atlantic, and less common in the Bay of Bengal, western North Pacific, and southern Indian Ocean.
There is also evidence that tropical storms are intensifying and possibly halting overland, allowing them to dump more rain on a particular location.
So, while climate change did not make Cyclone Batsirai more likely to form in February, it did make it more powerful, capable of demolishing over 120,000 homes when it impacted Madagascar.
(Source:www.eceee.org)
Monsoon rains have caused devastating flooding in Bangladesh, while violent heatwaves have scorched sections of South Asia and Europe in the previous three months. Meanwhile, in East Africa, a prolonged drought has pushed millions to the verge of hunger.
According to scientists, much of this is to be expected as a result of climate change.
A group of climate experts released a report in the journal Environmental Research: Climate on Tuesday. Over the last two decades, the researchers examined the role of climate change in particular weather events.
The findings both corroborate and clarify previous warnings about how global warming will transform our world.
"We find we have a much better grasp of how the intensity of these occurrences is evolving owing to climate change," said study co-author and Victoria University of Wellington climate scientist Luke Harrington.
What is less clear is how climate change affects wildfires and drought.
Scientists rely on hundreds of "attribution" studies for their review study, which try to assess how climate change caused a severe event using computer simulations and weather measurements.
Many low- and middle-income nations also have major data gaps, making it difficult to comprehend what's going on in such areas, according to co-author Friederike Otto, one of the climatologists directing the international research partnership World Weather Attribution (WWA).
Heatwaves are almost certainly being exacerbated by climate change.
"Pretty much all heatwaves across the world have been made more intense and more likely by climate change," said study co-author Ben Clarke, an environmental scientist at the University of Oxford.
In general, a heatwave that had a one-in-ten probability of occurring is now about three times more likely to occur — and will peak at temperatures around one degree Celsius higher — than it would have been without climate change.
According to WWA, climate change made an April heatwave in India and Pakistan that saw temperatures rise beyond 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) 30 times more likely. more info
Heatwaves in the Northern Hemisphere from Europe to the United States in June emphasise "exactly what our review article reveals... the frequency of heatwaves has increased so much," Otto said.
Following heavy rains, China saw widespread flooding last week. At the same time, Bangladesh had a flood-related inundation.
In general, heavy rainfall is becoming more common and intense. Because warmer air stores more moisture, storm clouds are "heavier" before breaking up.
Nonetheless, the study found that the impact varies by region, with some areas not receiving enough rain.
Scientists are having a more difficult time determining how climate change affects drought.
Some areas have been experiencing persistent dryness. Warmer temperatures in the United States' West, for example, are melting the snowpack faster and increasing evaporation, according to the study.
While East African droughts have yet to be directly linked to climate change, experts believe the drop in the spring rainy season is linked to warmer Indian Ocean waters. As a result, rain falls quickly over the ocean before reaching the land.
Heatwaves and dryness are also exacerbating wildfires, particularly megafires (fires that burn more than 100,000 acres).
According to the US Forest Service, a controlled fire set under "far drier conditions than anticipated" went out of control in the US state of New Mexico in April. The fires consumed 341,000 acres of land.
Storm frequency has not increased on a worldwide scale. According to the study, cyclones are becoming more common in the central Pacific and North Atlantic, and less common in the Bay of Bengal, western North Pacific, and southern Indian Ocean.
There is also evidence that tropical storms are intensifying and possibly halting overland, allowing them to dump more rain on a particular location.
So, while climate change did not make Cyclone Batsirai more likely to form in February, it did make it more powerful, capable of demolishing over 120,000 homes when it impacted Madagascar.
(Source:www.eceee.org)
Homepage
Send to a friend
Printable version
Share
