Warmer Earth will have less rain, not more
FRANCE: Climate scientists said Wednesday they found evidence to back
predictions for a future with lower average rainfall, even though
Earth's past warming episodes had led to more precipitation, not less.
Writing in the journal Nature, researchers said they had found proof
that global warming caused by Man's greenhouse-gas emissions has a
different effect on rainfall than warming caused by increased solar
radiation.
Warming induced by carbon emissions is expected to accompany a rise
in droughts in the future, they said.
This runs contrary to experience during the so-called Medieval Warm
Period, from 1000 to 1250 AD, when Earth was hotter than today as a
result of solar heating -- but also wetter.
Scientists have long battled to understand the apparent
contradiction.
AFP |