Study estimates rate of intensification of extreme tropical
rainfall with global warming.
Extreme precipitation in the tropics comes in many forms:
thunderstorm complexes, flood-inducing monsoons and wide-sweeping cyclones like
the recent Hurricane Isaac.
Global warming is expected to intensify extreme
precipitation, but the rate at which it does so in the tropics has remained
unclear. Now an MIT study has given an estimate based on model simulations and
observations: With every 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature, the study finds,
tropical regions will see 10 percent heavier rainfall extremes, with possible
impacts for flooding in populous regions.