Dave Farber
2018-08-22 14:01:50 UTC
Date: August 20, 2018 at 5:05:04 AM PDT
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Summer weather is getting 'stuck' due to Arctic warming
Summer weather is getting 'stuck' due to Arctic warming
Rising arctic temperatures mean we face a future of âextreme extremesâ where sunny days become heatwaves and rain becomes floods, study says
By Jonathan Watts
Aug 20 2018
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/20/summer-weather-is-getting-stuck-due-to-arctic-warming>
Summer weather patterns are increasingly likely to stall in Europe, North America and parts of Asia, according to a new climate study that explains why Arctic warming is making heatwaves elsewhere more persistent and dangerous.
Rising temperatures in the Arctic have slowed the circulation of the jet stream and other giant planetary winds, says the paper, which means high and low pressure fronts are getting stuck and weather is less able to moderate itself.
The authors of the research, published in Nature Communications on Monday, warn this could lead to âvery extreme extremesâ, which occur when abnormally high temperatures linger for an unusually prolonged period, turning sunny days into heat waves, tinder-dry conditions into wildfires, and rains into floods.
âThis summer was where we saw a very strong intensity of heatwaves. Itâll continue and thatâs very worrying, especially in the mid-latitudes: the EU, US, Russia and China,â said one of the coauthors, Dim Coumou from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. âShort-term heatwaves are quite pleasant, but longer term they will have an impact on society. Itâll have an affect on agricultural production. Harvests are already down this year for many products. Heatwaves can also have a devastating impact on human health.â
Circulation stalling has long been a concern of climate scientists, though most previous studies have looked at winter patterns. The new paper reviews research on summer trends, where it says there is mounting evidence of planetary wind systems â both low-level storm tracks and higher waves in the troposphere â losing their ability to shift the weather.
One cause is a weakening of the temperature gradient between the Arctic and Equator as a result of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. The far north of the Earth is warming two to four times faster than the global average, says the paper, which means there is a declining temperature gap with the central belt of the planet. As this ramp flattens, winds struggle to build up sufficient energy and speed to push around pressure systems in the area between them.
As a result, there is less relief in the form of mild and wet air from the sea when temperatures accumulate on land, and less relief from the land when storms build up in the ocean. Last year, Hurricane Harvey had a devastating impact on Texas because it was parked an unusually long time on the coast, where it kept drawing up moisture from the sea and dumping it in the form of the greatest deluge ever recorded in the US. Scientists had previously noted that hurricanes are slowing and bringing more rain.
A separate new paper in Scientific Reports indicated that the trapping of planetary airstreams â a phenomenon known as amplified quasi-stationary waves â also contributed to the 2016 wildfires in Alberta, which took two months to extinguish and ended as the costliest disaster in Canadian history with total damages reaching 4.7bn Canadian dollars.
âClearly, the planetary wave pattern wasnât the only cause for the fire â yet it was an additional important factor triggering a deplorable disaster,â says lead author Vladimir Petoukhov from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. âIn fact, our analysis reveals that beyond that single event, actually from the 1980s on, planetary waves were a significant factor for wildfire risks in the region.â
He said wave pattern studies will help forest managers and fire forecasters because changes can be detected ahead of their impacts.
However, scientists are also concerned that slowing circulation could produce âsurprisesâ, by amplifying other climate changes.
[snip]
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-------------------------------------------Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Summer weather is getting 'stuck' due to Arctic warming
Summer weather is getting 'stuck' due to Arctic warming
Rising arctic temperatures mean we face a future of âextreme extremesâ where sunny days become heatwaves and rain becomes floods, study says
By Jonathan Watts
Aug 20 2018
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/20/summer-weather-is-getting-stuck-due-to-arctic-warming>
Summer weather patterns are increasingly likely to stall in Europe, North America and parts of Asia, according to a new climate study that explains why Arctic warming is making heatwaves elsewhere more persistent and dangerous.
Rising temperatures in the Arctic have slowed the circulation of the jet stream and other giant planetary winds, says the paper, which means high and low pressure fronts are getting stuck and weather is less able to moderate itself.
The authors of the research, published in Nature Communications on Monday, warn this could lead to âvery extreme extremesâ, which occur when abnormally high temperatures linger for an unusually prolonged period, turning sunny days into heat waves, tinder-dry conditions into wildfires, and rains into floods.
âThis summer was where we saw a very strong intensity of heatwaves. Itâll continue and thatâs very worrying, especially in the mid-latitudes: the EU, US, Russia and China,â said one of the coauthors, Dim Coumou from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. âShort-term heatwaves are quite pleasant, but longer term they will have an impact on society. Itâll have an affect on agricultural production. Harvests are already down this year for many products. Heatwaves can also have a devastating impact on human health.â
Circulation stalling has long been a concern of climate scientists, though most previous studies have looked at winter patterns. The new paper reviews research on summer trends, where it says there is mounting evidence of planetary wind systems â both low-level storm tracks and higher waves in the troposphere â losing their ability to shift the weather.
One cause is a weakening of the temperature gradient between the Arctic and Equator as a result of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. The far north of the Earth is warming two to four times faster than the global average, says the paper, which means there is a declining temperature gap with the central belt of the planet. As this ramp flattens, winds struggle to build up sufficient energy and speed to push around pressure systems in the area between them.
As a result, there is less relief in the form of mild and wet air from the sea when temperatures accumulate on land, and less relief from the land when storms build up in the ocean. Last year, Hurricane Harvey had a devastating impact on Texas because it was parked an unusually long time on the coast, where it kept drawing up moisture from the sea and dumping it in the form of the greatest deluge ever recorded in the US. Scientists had previously noted that hurricanes are slowing and bringing more rain.
A separate new paper in Scientific Reports indicated that the trapping of planetary airstreams â a phenomenon known as amplified quasi-stationary waves â also contributed to the 2016 wildfires in Alberta, which took two months to extinguish and ended as the costliest disaster in Canadian history with total damages reaching 4.7bn Canadian dollars.
âClearly, the planetary wave pattern wasnât the only cause for the fire â yet it was an additional important factor triggering a deplorable disaster,â says lead author Vladimir Petoukhov from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. âIn fact, our analysis reveals that beyond that single event, actually from the 1980s on, planetary waves were a significant factor for wildfire risks in the region.â
He said wave pattern studies will help forest managers and fire forecasters because changes can be detected ahead of their impacts.
However, scientists are also concerned that slowing circulation could produce âsurprisesâ, by amplifying other climate changes.
[snip]
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