Studies have shown that the increase in ocean surface temperatures, as well as air temperatures, have increased the amount of atmospheric moisture and resulted in an uptick in the amount of rainfall to the Pacific Northwest delivered via atmospheric river storms.
“Extreme precipitation is increasing worldwide. Across the United States, observational data shows an increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme precipitation events,” Climate Signals, a nonprofit that tracks climate change developments, says on its website. “This is because warmer air has the capacity to hold and release more moisture. For each 1°C of warming, saturated air contains seven percent more water vapor. Therefore, a given volume of warmer air has the capacity to drop greater amounts of rain and snowfall than the same volume of cooler air.”
The atmospheric river that broke rainfall records in parts of Washington before wreaking havoc in Yellowstone National Park was classified as a maximum Category 5 event on a scale developed by the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes in San Diego.
Why is this relevant?
Because if you dig up references to this on humblebragging sites like LinkedIn, the words 'climate change' are virtually absent from any discourse.
No comments:
Post a Comment