Topics include observations of precipitation extremes, detection and attribution work
on precipitation extremes and projected changes to precipitation extremes.
Performance is assessed based
on precipitation extremes indices and results from a generalized extreme value analysis applied to annual precipitation maxima.
This study employed three newly developed global coupled climate models to study the impact of horizontal atmospheric model resolution (tile size)
on precipitation extremes.
Not exact matches
The 2007 International Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC), the most authoritative source of climate science, spelled out the likely consequences of inaction, including
extreme heat and
precipitation, droughts, and rising seas.
To identify
extreme weather events, the researchers relied
on county and calendar day specific thresholds for
precipitation and maximum temperature (90th and 95th percentile, respectively) that were calculated based
on 30 years of baseline data (1960 - 1989).
Based
on over a decade of asthma hospitalization data (115,923 cases from 2000 - 2012), researchers observed higher risk of asthma hospitalization after
extreme heat or
extreme precipitation events.
While the majority of climate change scientists focus
on the «direct» threats of changing temperatures and
precipitation after 2031, far fewer researchers are studying how short - term human adaptation responses to seasonal changes and
extreme weather events may threaten the survival of wildlife and ecosystems much sooner.
«The human influence
on the climate system has the effect of intensifying
precipitation extremes,» Zwiers notes.
Although the rising average global surface temperature is an indicator of the degree of disruption that we have imposed
on the global climate system, what's actually happening involves changes in circulation patterns, changes in
precipitation patterns, and changes in
extremes.
Climate scientists know that the intensity of
extreme precipitation events is
on the rise because there's more water vapor in the atmosphere caused by higher global and sea temperatures.
This location was chosen because it is one of the most Mars - like locales
on the face of the Earth: the island is completely uninhabited and unvegetated; it receives almost no
precipitation, and is thus nearly as dry as Mars; temperature
extremes approach those of Mars; the impact crater where the station is located is similar to many such craters
on Mars.
As the 2014 Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change report notes, models predict that increasing temperature ought to cause greater
precipitation extremes in both directions — both drought and flooding, though there are likely more areas of heavy
precipitation.
Staying
on the Southern Hemisphere, a research team led by Sue Rosier, looked at
extreme precipitation over the North Island of New Zealand that led to severe flooding in July 2014.
On a statewide and seasonal level, 2015 was a year of temperature and
precipitation extremes.
Warm oceans produced extensive evaporation and
precipitation, which
on the cold continents resulted in
extreme snowfall rates that built up glaciers.
Climate model projections show a warmer Montana in the future, with mixed changes in
precipitation, more
extreme events, and mixed certainty
on upcoming drought.
The
Extremes Grand Challenge is organised around four over arching themes (Document, Understand, Simulate, Attribute) with a main focus
on four core events (Heavy
Precipitation, Heatwave, Drought, Storm).
Her work focuses
on the causes of change in mean and
extreme temperature and
precipitation.
Anthropogenic climate change is expected to have an impact
on these types of events: warm temperature
extremes and heavy
precipitation extremes have -LSB-...]
His work mainly focuses
on remote sensing of
precipitation, hydrologic applications, and the analysis of
extreme weather and climatic events using observation and models.
Simulation of
extreme precipitation is dependent
on resolution, parametrization and the thresholds chosen.
This book argues that the floods following
extreme precipitation result not only from very heavy rainfall but also from the significant impact of human activities
on natural water systems.
Here is an interesting report
on the links between tropical temperatures and increased likelihood of
extreme precipitation events:
Mean temperature, mean monthly
precipitation, frequency of hot / cold days / nights, and indices of
extreme precipitation are all estimated for each country based
on observed and modeled data.
This influence of climate change
on some
extremes, including especially heat waves and heavy
precipitation and some kinds of storm and flood events must no longer be waved away, swept under the rug, or otherwise ignored.
The Democrats
on the committee are staying true to form, as well, overstating the findings in a recent Nature paper to try — in a way that will surely backfire — to build urgency based
on extreme precipitation patterns.
The ECMWF provides data for some climate indices, such as the global mean temperature, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a web site for
extreme temperatures and
precipitation around the world with an interactive map, showing the warmest and coldest sites
on the continents.
They discussed the effect of variables being non-iid
on the
extreme value analysis, and after taking that into account, propose that changes in
extreme precipitation are likely to be larger than the corresponding changes in annual mean
precipitation under a global warming.
When it comes to
extreme weather, we always take the opportunity to point back to the last definitive international scientific report
on extreme weather and climate change, which found strong historic links for heat waves, coastal flooding and changes in
precipitation along with weaker links for tornadoes and hurricanes.
There have also been some reports
on trends of more
extreme precipitation, although The International Ad Hoc Detection and Attribution Group (IDAG, 2005) did not manage to attribute trends in
precipitation to anthropogenic greenhouse gases (G)-- a quote from their review article is: «For diurnal temperature range (DTR) and
precipitation, detection is not achieved», here «detection» implying the signal of G.
These results are based
on a comparison of observed and multi-model simulated changes in
extreme precipitation over the latter half of the twentieth century analyzed with an optimal fingerprinting technique.
So: The study finds a fingerprint of anthropogenic influences
on large scale increase in
precipitation extremes, with remaining uncertainties — namely that there is still a possibility that the widespread increase in heavy
precipitation could be due to an unusual event of natural variability.The intensification of
extreme rainfall is expected with warming, and there is a clear physical mechanism for it, but it is never possible to completely separate a signal of external forcing from climate variability — the separation will always be statistical in nature.
3:28 p.m. Updated I contacted Kevin Trenberth, a climate scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research who was just interviewed by Joe Romm
on extreme precipitation and warming, to see if he thinks it's appropriate to call such storms «global warming type» events.
Some of the differences were touched
on in my recent coverage of new analysis attributing some changes in
extreme precipitation in the Northern Hemisphere to human - driven global warming.
3:19 p.m. Updated Andrew Freedman at the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang blog weighed in
on extreme precipitation and warming today, as well.
I posted a quick riff overnight
on new research, published in Nature, that links human - driven global warming and rising instances of
extreme precipitation in observed parts of the Northern Hemisphere over the last half of the 20th century.
«Since the AR4, there is some new limited direct evidence for an anthropogenic influence
on extreme precipitation, including a formal detection and attribution study and indirect evidence that
extreme precipitation would be expected to have increased given the evidence of anthropogenic influence
on various aspects of the global hydrological cycle and high confidence that the intensity of
extreme precipitation events will increase with warming, at a rate well exceeding that of the mean
precipitation..
Several charts
on US
precipitation extremes are wet, dry and combined.
The photos allow Romps, a climate scientist who specializes in clouds, to measure how fast the clouds rise, which in turn can shed light
on a wide range of areas, ranging from lightning rates to
extreme precipitation to the ozone hole.
Dr. Francis Zwiers, PCIC's Director, delivered a talk
on recent advances in the detection and attribution of
precipitation extremes.
Peer - reviewed literature about the effects of climate change are in broad agreement that air and surface water temperatures are rising and will continue to do so, that ice cover is declining steadily, and that
precipitation and
extreme events are
on the rise.
Evidence that
extreme precipitation is increasing is based primarily
on analysis1, 2,3 of hourly and daily
precipitation observations from the U.S. Cooperative Observer Network, and is supported by observed increases in atmospheric water vapor.4 Recent publications have projected an increase in
extreme precipitation events, 1,5 with some areas getting larger increases6 and some getting decreases.7, 2
Our warming world is, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change, increasing heat waves and intense
precipitation in some places, and is likely to bring more
extreme weather in the future.
The effects of weather
extremes on human health have been well documented, particularly for increased heavy
precipitation, which has contributed to increases in severe flooding events in certain regions.
As a result, the air is
on average warmer and moister than it was prior to about 1970 and in turn has likely led to a 5 — 10 % effect
on precipitation and storms that is greatly amplified in
extremes.
This post was originally published
on this site Today the journal Nature Climate Change published results of a groundbreaking paper that explores the changing character of
precipitation extremes in California.
Precipitation extremes, many of them associated with one of the strongest La Niña events of the past 60 years, had major impacts
on the world.
On extreme precipitation events over mid-latitude landmass and wet tropical regions becoming more intense and frequent, the CLAs clarified that the assessment was based on more than the RCPs, and that the conclusion was generally true for all these region
On extreme precipitation events over mid-latitude landmass and wet tropical regions becoming more intense and frequent, the CLAs clarified that the assessment was based
on more than the RCPs, and that the conclusion was generally true for all these region
on more than the RCPs, and that the conclusion was generally true for all these regions.
A programming note: my colleagues and I have just completed a new study
on changing California
precipitation extremes, and the associated paper will be released in late April.
While this week's expected
precipitation is much - needed and notable given the recent
extreme dryness, we're probably still
on track for the driest year
on record.