Human activities of pollution and habitat destruction are causing catastrophic damage to our planet¡¯s usual functioning and every now and then we get to know how it is affecting the environment.?
And now with the help of 36,000 weather stations, researchers have discovered that as our planet experiences climate change, extreme heat and rain conditions are occurring more often, more intense and last longer too.
This is according to Jim Salinger, Honorary Associate, Tasmanian Institute for Agriculture, University of Tasmania and Lisa Alexander, Chief Investigator ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science and Associate Professor Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW, published in the Conversation.?
The research is based on the HadEX database that looks at 29 indices of weather extremes, including the number of days spent in temperatures over 25 degrees celsius or temperature below 0 degree celsius. They also looked at data showing dry days with less than 1 millimetre of rain.?
The data looks at weather conditions from three decades between 1981 and 2010 as well as three decades between 1951 and 1980.
The data shows a considerable increase in above-average warm days across the planet. In Australia, they saw a nationwide increase in warm temperatures with a decrease in cold temperature extremes.?
The data also revealed that rainfall extremes have increased in western parts of Australia with reduced rainfall in the east.
In New Zealand, the temperatures are significantly warmer with the northern areas of the nation being completely frost-free. In fact, Australia is experiencing more warm temperatures when compared with data of previous years -- more than 20 days per year in the northern regions and at least 10 days per year in the southern regions with most impact seen during the season of spring.?
A similar trend is spotted in New Zealand with temperatures over 25 degrees celsius. Data reveals that the frequency of unusually warm days has spiked from 8 percent to 12 percent (from 1950 to 2018) with 19 to 24 days on average over 25 degrees celsius in a year.?
In Australia, extreme rainfall has also become more common in several regions of the nations, specifically norther and western regions which have become wetter since the 1960s. In eastern and southern Australia the change is less prominent with 10 mm or more rain in regions where total rainfall dropped.?
In New Zealand, wet days aer mostly seen in the east of the North Island with smaller increase and western and southern regions of South Island. Researchers conclude stating that these extremes of temperatures can cause dramatic effects as was seen in two marine heatwaves in New Zealand as well as the hottest and driest year in Australia during 2019.
This trend of extreme climate isn¡¯t new. Last month we saw scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reveal that the past 40 years, climate change has seen surface temperature warm-up in regions prone to hurricanes. Club this with changes to the atmospheric conditions, and they see an increase in the intensity of the hurricanes in these regions.?
Researchers claim that this change in intensity and speed will continue and become more impactful if the planet temperature continues to rise.?