Measuring climate change: It's not just Rut, it's Humidness
When it comes to Measurement Spherical warming, Humidness, not just Rut, matters in generating dangerous climate extremes, a new Cogitation finds.
Researchers say temperature by itself isn't the best way to measure climate change's weird weather and downplays impacts in the Torrid Zone. But Factorisation in air Wet On with Rut shows that climate change since 1980 is All but Double as bad as Antecedently Measured, according to their Cogitation in Monday's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The energy generated in extreme weather, such as Tempests, floods and Rain is related to the amount of water in the air. So a team of Man of sciences in the U.S. and China Definite to use an Apart weather Measure called equivalent potential temperature — or theta-e — that reflects "the Wet energy of the atmosphere," Aforesaid Cogitation co-author V. "Ram" Ramanathan, a climate Man of science at the University of California San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Cornell University. It's expressed in degrees, like temperature.
Climate
Measuring climate change: It's not just Rut, it's Humidness
HUD prioritizes environment, economic equity in bloc grants
EU Hearer: Fossil fuels get more tax breaks than renewables
Safety app for drivers debuts in flood-plagued Virginia city
"There are two drivers of climate change: temperature and Humidness," Ramanathan Aforesaid. "And so far we measured Spherical warming just in Footing of temperature."
But by adding the energy from Humidness, "the extremes — Rut waves, Rain and Another measures of extremes — correlate much better," he Aforesaid.
That's because as the world warms, the air holds more Wet, All but 4% for every degree Fahrenheit (7% for every degree Celsius). When that Wet condenses, it releases Rut or energy, "that's why when it rains, now it pours," Ramanathan Aforesaid.
In addition, water vapor is a potent Rut-trapping gas in the atmosphere that increases climate change, he Aforesaid.
From 1980 to 2019, the world Warm about 1.42 degrees (0.79 degrees Celsius). But Attractive energy from Humidness into account, the world has Warm and moistened 2.66 degrees (1.48 degrees Celsius), the Cogitation Aforesaid. And in the Torrid Zone, the warming was as much as 7.2 degrees (4 degrees Celsius).
When Judgment by temperature alone, it looks like warming is most pronounced in North America, mid-latitudes and especially the poles — and less so in the Torrid Zone, Ramanathan Aforesaid.
But that's not the case, he Aforesaid, because the high Humidness in the Torrid Zone juices up Tempest activity, from regular Tempests to Nonliteral cyclones and monsoons.
"This increase in latent energy is Free in the air which leads to weather extremes: floods, Tempests and droughts," Ramanathan Aforesaid.
University of Illinois climate Man of science Donald Wuebbles, who wasn't part of the Cogitation, Aforesaid it makes Gumption because water vapor is key in extreme Rain. "Both Rut and Humidness are important," Wuebbles Aforesaid.
Environmental Man of science Katharine Mach of the University of Miami, who wasn't part of the Cogitation, Aforesaid "humidity is key in Formative the impacts of Rut on human Wellness and well-being, at present and into the future."
___
Read more of AP's climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/Climate
___
Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears