Global climate change
Climate change may lead to longer and wider atmospheric rivers
By Brett Anderson, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
5/30/2018, 11:38:57 AM
Share this article:
New research from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory indicates that climate change will cause atmospheric rivers to become increasingly longer and wider by the end of this century.
Graphic courtesy of NOAA.
Atmospheric rivers are long, and narrow (250-375 miles wide) jets of air that carry massive amounts of water vapor from the tropics to regions that can be located as far away as the middle and high latitudes.
Atmospheric rivers can bring much needed precipitation but can also be responsible for major flooding and extreme snowfall.
An example of an atmospheric river (circled) impacting the U.S. West Coast. Image courtesy NOAA.
The research team, led by Duane Waliser of NASA's JPL, stated that the results of this study are based on the assumption that greenhouse gas emissions will continue at the current rate.
Even though atmospheric rivers will likely become longer and wider, the results showed that there will be about a 10 percent decrease in atmospheric rivers globally by the end of the 21st century.
Regardless of the decrease, the trend toward longer and wider atmospheric rivers is expected to produce a 50 percent increase in heavy rain and strong wind events globally. In addition, the frequency of the most intense atmospheric rivers may nearly double by the end of the 21st century.
--------
For information on how the research team cam to their conclusions, see the NASA News report.
The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of AccuWeather, Inc. or AccuWeather.com
Global climate change
-
Common allergen expected to expand northward through the eastern U.S. under climate change
Global climate change - November 09, 2018, 12:04:58 PM EST
Ragweed expected to expand further into the Northeast U.S. as the climate warms this century.
-
The world's oceans have been absorbing more heat than previous estimates
Global climate change - November 02, 2018, 1:43:59 PM EDT
New research has determined that the Earth is even more sensitive to fossil-fuel emissions than previously thought.
-
Climate change expected to have significant impacts on the global supply of beer
Global climate change - October 18, 2018, 10:31:26 AM EDT
Climate change may make beer more of a luxury item in the future.
-
Key takeaways from the latest IPCC report on the impacts of a 1.5 degree Celsius rise in global temperature
Global climate change - October 11, 2018, 9:44:57 AM EDT
The goal of limiting future warming to 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
-
Update on Arctic sea ice extent and volume
Global climate change - October 03, 2018, 2:09:38 PM EDT
Sea ice reached its annual minimum extent in the Arctic.
-
Arctic warming may play a role in more persistent weather patterns in North America
Global climate change - September 26, 2018, 3:10:04 PM EDT
Rapid warming in the Arctic may be linked to an increase in persistent weather patterns across North America.
-
Tropical climate zones are expanding as predicted
Global climate change - September 19, 2018, 1:12:16 PM EDT
As expected, the tropics are expanding. But what are the causes?
-
Reasons on why the rate of global warming slowed between 1998 and 2012
Global climate change - September 13, 2018, 2:26:04 PM EDT
What were the primary causes of the slowdown in global warming from 1998 to 2012?
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Global climate change
In the AccuWeather climate change blog, you will find links to the latest research and commentary by experts with various points of view.
-
Elliot Abrams
Northeast U.S. expert
-
Brett Anderson
Canadian weather blog
-
Astronomy blog
with Dave Samuhel
-
Global climate change
with Brett Anderson
-
Western US weather expert
with Jordan Root
-
WeatherMatrix (Jesse Ferrell)
The WeatherMatrix blog
-
Weather photos
AccuWeather.com photo of the day
-
Frank Strait
Southern U.S. weather blog
-
Global weather
with Eric Leister
-
Air Quality Blog
with Faith Eherts
Comments
Comments that don't add to the conversation may be automatically or manually removed by Facebook or AccuWeather. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.