Rainfall extremes linked to showers
Nature Geoscience
February 18, 2013
The amount of rainfall associated with heavy showers rises much faster in response to rising air temperatures than other types of rain, reports a study published online this week in Nature Geoscience. The findings imply that the increase in extreme rain expected with climate warming will mostly be associated with showery precipitation, such as thunderstorms, rather than the more steady rain that falls when different air masses meet.
Jan Haerter and colleagues combined measurements of rainfall over Germany with weather and temperature records to separate instances of showery, convective rainfall from rain events that occur when warm air masses override cooler ones. They find that showery rain intensifies much faster in response to warmer temperatures.
doi: 10.1038/ngeo1731
Research highlights
-
Jan 15
Environment: Seagrass meadows may facilitate marine plastic removal from the seaScientific Reports
-
Jan 15
Planetary Science: Mercury may have shrunk less than previously thoughtCommunications Earth＆Environment
-
Jan 13
Environment: Polyester fibres found to be widespread in the ArcticNature Communications
-
Dec 23
Planetary science: Over 100,000 new craters identified on the MoonNature Communications
-
Dec 22
Conservation: Agricultural expansion could cause widespread biodiversity declines by 2050Nature Sustainability
-
Dec 18
Geology: Alpine summits may have been ice-free during life of Tyrolean IcemanScientific Reports
