Unseasonal rainstorms and more and more, why?

The water cycle is the existence and movement of water on the ground, in the earth’s atmosphere and in the Earth’s atmosphere – Photo: Shuterstock

According to a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports, The Earth’s water cycle is increasing rapidly due to climate change. As global temperatures rise, water from the oceans evaporates faster, making the top layer of the sea saltier and adding water to the atmosphere in the form of vapor.

This will also increase rainfall in other parts of the world.

Estrella Olmedo, an expert at the Institut de Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC/Spain), lead author of the study, said: “Higher amounts of water circulating in the atmosphere could also explain the “Increased storm surge is occurring in some polar regions, where the fact that rain rather than snow is accelerating melting.”

An acceleration of the water cycle can have profound effects on modern society, causing droughts and water shortages in some places, as well as more intense storms and floods in others.

For this study, the researchers analyzed satellite data on ocean surface salinity.

Ocean salinity is essential to understanding ocean circulation, one of the key factors for understanding global climate. This circulation also depends on the density of the water, which is determined by its temperature and salinity.

Changes in these two parameters, however small, can have serious consequences for the global climate.

From the satellite data, the researchers also detected the effect of “stratification” over very large areas in the ocean. This is the division of the water column into layers with different densities, caused by differences in temperature, salinity, or both.

According to expert Olmedo, surface salinity in the Pacific Ocean decreases more slowly than subsurface salinity. Surface temperature also increased.

Explaining the reason for the increased water cycle, the researchers point out that there are many factors that influence each other. In particular, reduced wind power in some areas of the ocean may contribute to the acceleration of the water cycle.

Wind creates waves, which help to stir up different layers of the water column. When the wind is no longer strong, the surface water warms but does not exchange heat with the water below, causing the surface to become saltier than the layers below.

Warmer and saltier water on the surface can absorb less carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and thus further warming the Earth’s surface.

Rising ocean temperatures have a number of other negative effects as well.

Warmer water will absorb less oxygen, and this little oxygen cannot mix as easily with the colder ocean water below, making it difficult for marine life to thrive.

Warmer ocean water also accelerates the rate of bleaching of coral reefs, affecting not only the entire marine ecosystem but also making storms more intense.

Recent climate studies predict that for every degree Celsius warming, Earth’s water cycle could increase by up to 7%. In practice, that means wet areas could be 7% wetter, and dry areas would be 7% drier on average.

The only way to ensure that heat waves, droughts and storms do not increase in the future is to limit global warming.

A recent study by the University of Melbourne (Australia) and the International Energy Agency in Paris (France), shows that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26), committed to action to curb Average global temperature rises below 2 degrees ^{C above pre-industrial levels, and reaching the target of no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius to adapt to the effects of climate change, there is only a 6-10% chance of achieving it.}

Meanwhile, the most recent report of the International Commission on Climate Change estimates that if we can keep global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, extreme weather events will be stronger. 14% more than at the beginning of the industrial revolution.

The fight against climate change has so far remained a dilemma.