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Climate Change Is Responsible for Frequent Extreme Rainfall Events

By on February 3, 2013 | RSS


 Climate Change Is Responsible for Frequent Extreme Rainfall EventsThe speculations that have been made over the past decade about the reasons behind the severe intensities of the most extreme rainfall have now been confirmed. A study led by the University of Adelaide proved that rising temperatures and climate change are responsible for the increase in the frequency and severity of the events.

The lead author, Dr Seth Westra, a Senior Lecturer with the University of Adelaide’s School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering and member of the Environment Institute and his team conducted a detailed review of changes to extreme rainfall, and assessed the relationship between these and atmospheric temperatures measured at more than 8000 weather stations around the world.

The findings indicated that there is a 7% increase in the intensity of extreme rainfall for each degree of increase in atmospheric temperature. According to Westra, if the predictions of 3 to 5 degrees Celsius rise in global temperature come true, then the increase in rainfall intensity might be expected to reach around 35%.

The results are based on data for the period between 1900 and 2009. The estimates are clear, showing direct link between the two variables. The team predicts that more intense rainfall events would cause frequent and severe floods.

This will be particularly the case in tropical countries, where the population is poor and not capable to adapt to the risk.



Mila is a researcher and scientist with a great passion for soils, rocks, plants, water and all environment-related aspects of our surroundings. For the past 10 years, during the course of her educational and professional development, she travelled all over Europe, Africa and Asia, driven by her passion for the environment and urge to seek challenges.

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DavidNutzuki
DavidNutzuki

Still not one IPCC warning is without "maybe" and "could be" and..... Never has science said the ultimate crisis will actually happen, only might happen. Like what's worse, a comet hit! We need certainty for the worst crisis imaginable.Maybe isn't good enough.

Get upt to date:

*Occupywallstreet does not even mention CO2 in its list of demands because of the bank-funded carbon trading stock markets ruled by corporations and trustworthy politicians

*Canada killed Y2Kyoto with a freely elected climate change denying prime minister and nobody cared, especially the millions of scientists warning us of unstoppable warming (a comet hit).

*Obama has not mentioned the crisis in the last two State of the Unions addresses.

*In all of the debates Obama hadn’t planned to mention climate change once.

Meanwhile, the entire world of SCIENCE, lazy copy and paste news editors and obedient journalists, had condemned our kids to the greenhouse gas ovens of an exaggerated "crisis" and had allowed bank-funded and corporate-run “CARBON TRADING STOCK MARKETS” to trump 3rd world fresh water relief, starvation rescue and 3rd world education for just over 26 years of insane attempts at climate CONTROL.

 

Tags: climate change, Climate Change, extreme rainfall, rainfalls