Higher temperatures to cause extreme rainfall in the tropics

Global warming and the resulting higher temperatures will likely account for extreme rainfall in the tropics. According to a latest MIT study every 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature in the tropics will result in 10 percent heavier rainfall extremes. This rainfall increase could have major impact on flooding in many populous regions in the tropics.

The researchers are convinced that rainfall extremes in tropical regions are more sensitive to global warming compared to other regions thought they are yet to understand the reasons why.

The basic principle of this increase in precipitation is well known. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide enter the atmosphere, more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere means higher temperature, and this in turn leads to increases in the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. More water vapor in the atmosphere means that there will be heavier rain because of the increased humidity, which fuels more intense storms.

The MIT scientists have used satellite observations of extreme rainfall between the latitudes of 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south, an area just above and below the Equator, and were looking at the several climate models, which are able to simulate the effects of both El Niño and global warming.

They have discovered one clear pattern, namely that models that showed a strong response in rainfall to El Niño also responded strongly to global warming.

The researchers issued warnings to policymakers saying that although the rainfall will increase in the wettest regions, the drier parts of the tropics will likely become even more drier, meaning that they should not only take into account more damaging flooding, but also less reliable rains from year to year.

Forests feeling the heat of climate change

Climate change has negative impact on forests from many different angles. The increased temperatures are not only causing heat stress and drought but they are also opening the door for wide-spread insect infestation.

In many parts of the world researchers are already talking about rapidly growing forest mortality. Not all tree species are affected the same with some species of trees being more resistant than other, with other likely to be hit particularly hard, depending on factors such asage or sizes of trees.

Some researchers fear that in business as usual scenario many forest areas will cease to exist and will turn into grasslands or some other ecosystems. This could further increase climate change impact because forests are large carbon sinkers, absorbing plenty of CO2 from the atmosphere. Also, the decomposition of dead trees releases CO2 in the atmosphere, therefore increasing global warming effect and debris from dead trees could also increase a forest's fire risk and result in even more CO2 emissions.

Forests play vital role in not only absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere, but also in regulating climate and water purification. They are also important for water and nutrient cycle, not to mention that they also provide homes for thousands of different animal and plant species.

In United States, this summer's severe drought has taken heavy toll on forests, and we are yet to receive official data about the total damage done to U.S. forests. One thing is sure though, there will be plenty dead trees in the final report.

Many researchers believe that one-dimensional approach may not be enough to save our forests and are calling for joint action that would not only include climate change scientists and ecologists but also, biogeochemists, hydrologists, economists, social scientists, etc.

Current forest management practices won't be enough to save many of our forests from climate change impact and this is why this issue needs to involve more scientists, from different scientific fields.

Warm climate means short-term extinction of species

The British scientists from the Universities of York, Glasgow and Leeds have been recently re-examining fossil and geological records going back 540 million years, in order to discover the connection between biodiversity and global warming of the planet.

Their conclusion was that in the normal scenario biodiversity on Earth increases as the planet warms but present rapid trends of increasing temperature will unlikely increase global biodiversity on short-tem because climate change is happening too fast (primarily due to increased human impact).

The rate of increase in biodiversity is primarily dependant on the evolution of new species over millions and millions of years. Of course, the evolution of new species is also usually accompanied by extinctions of existing species that fail to adapt to changes in climate.

Overall speaking, warm climates seem to boost biodiversity in the very long run (millions of years), rather than reducing it but short-term speaking there is likely to be more extinction than evolution of new species.

The scientists however still disagree that that current global warming is good for existing species, at least from the current point of view, because large changes in our planet's biodiversity need millions of years so the only thing we could right now predict with a reasonable dose of certainty is short-term losses in our planet’s biodiversity.

The fossil records showed clear proof that the warmer periods in past were at first accompanied by the increased rate of extinction, but after a longer time span they also promoted the evolution of new species, increasing overall biodiversity on our planet.

The past geological periods however didn’t have humans in the climate change equation.

Climate change impact needs to be less negative

Climate change has become one of the world's hottest topics with thousands of different news putting various processes into the climate change equation. What is actually happening to our planet, and what can we do to make climate change impact less negative?

The first thing you need to know is that Earth's climate is in the constant process of change, we could even say that it has its ups and downs. Our planet's history shows us that the periods of hot and cold climate were naturally exchanging one after another, and that they have affected the entire life on our planet.

In past, nature was the main regulator of our planet’s climate but in the last century humans are the main factor behind the ongoing changes in climate, primarily because of the excessive fossil fuel burning and the resulting increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Climate change is in the current phase primarily associated with global warming. In the last 300 years average temperature on our planet has increased by approximately 0.7 degrees Celsius. In the business as usual scenario in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, temperatures will further increase, likely by more than 3 degrees Celsius by the end of this century.

The climate change has many scary faces which include flooding, droughts, extreme weather events, sea level rise, and new diseases.

World leaders still fail to take climate change issue seriously. There have been plenty of talks but these talks resulted in almost nothing because greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow, and climate change is rapidly reaching the point where it will become irreversible.

This may not affect our generation but our children and grandchildren are bound to pay a really high price for our mistakes. The climate change issue could well become the defining point of our entire civilization.

Australia's marine ecosystems responding to climate change

More than 80 Australian marine scientists from 34 universities and research organizations have compiled the comprehensive report from which it can be seen how Australia’s marine ecosystems are responding to climate change. Among most interesting discoveries were:

1. The increasing sea temperatures have an effect on the distribution of marine plants and animals, causing many species that are currently being found in tropical and temperate waters to move south.
2. Winds and currents over the Southern Ocean are having major impact on foraging of seabirds that breed in south-east Australia and feed close to the Antarctic each summer.
3. The good news is that some tropical fish species have a greater ability to adapt to changes brought by climate change and will likely be able to acclimatize to rising water temperatures.

The Australian science community is luckily heavily involved in research, monitoring and observing climate change impact which should lead to valuable information to management on how to help marine ecosystems adapt to climate change.

This has been a very detailed report that analyzed the changes in sea temperature, sea level, the East Australian Current, the Leeuwin Current, and El Niño-Southern Oscillation, and their effects on „coral reefs, tropical, temperate and pelagic fish, marine mammals, marine reptiles, seabirds, mangroves, tidal wetlands, seagrass, macroalgae, marine microbes, phytoplankton and zooplankton.

Why new climate change deal is nowhere to be seen?

The science is almost unanimous in describing climate change as the biggest environmental threat of our time. It’s a real pity that the world leaders do not feel the same because new climate change deal is nowhere to be seen, and seems to be hugely overshadowed by the global economic meltdown.

Sure, there have been plenty of climate change talks but very little has moved forward in terms of agreeing new international deal that would significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

We have been bombarded by different  reports about big differences between developed and developing world that supposedly prevent the agreement on new climate deal.  The truth behind these talks is completely different, namely neither of the big emitters is ready to make the first step and show the rest of the world the right and only logical way to move forward.

They all fear that this will create gigantic damage to their economies, and are waiting for others to make the first move, meaning that we are stuck in this pathetic status quo situation where each major country is just making up excuses instead of doing something meaningful to decrease its carbon footprint.

The fossil fuel lobbies still hold plenty of power and renewable energy industry is still fairly young. This is the main reason why the future outlook for major reduction in emissions looks bleak to say the least. The renewable energy capacity continues to grow, that's true, but as long as fossil fuels remain dominant energy sources, world will not stand any chance in fight against climate change.

Not agreeing on new climate change deal because of the possible short-term damage to economy is one of the biggest ironies in the world today, especially given the fact that climate change is already costing global economy billions of dollars, with much worse to come in not so distant future.

The politics is determining the future of our future generations, and this is anything but good. Politics is symbolized by greed and power, and this is the legacy that is bound to create major problems for our children and grandchildren.

If we fail to win the fight against climate change what kind of world will be leaving to them? Do they really deserve to pay for our mistakes, and be severely punished because of the total negligence from our part? Where's that famous humanity we so much like to talk about?