NASA: Climate Change Will Cause More Rainfall in Tropical Regions

Climate change alters many aspects on Earth. The threat is imminent, and more and more people are finally acknowledging the risks posed by the changing times. A new NASA research says that climate change will cause more rainfall in tropical regions that are typically sunny.

According to a new NASA study called "Tightening of Tropical Ascent and High Clouds Key to Precipitation Change in a Warmer Climate," as the climate continues to warm up, there will be a significant increase in rainfall.

The study was recently published in the journal Nature and was led by NASA scientist Hui Su from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

Using climate change models, experts reveal that in the future, humans will experience a small amount of rain and a decrease in high clouds in tropical regions due to global warming.

There will also be fewer clouds but a heavier amount of rain in some regions. NASA scientists explain that this is because rainfall is not entirely linked to clouds. Heat in the atmosphere will also get trapped in tropical clouds.

With fewer clouds, the tropical atmosphere will be cooler but the heat will be trapped in a layer. The warmer the climate, the fewer high clouds will be created. Nature will then try to balance things out and will heighten tropical rainfall due to the trapped heat from the air.

Scientists compared older data from 23 climate simulations to see the results. They backed up the claims with satellite data from the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) and ground-based instruments.

This is how scientists found out that the predicted amount of rainfall was underestimated due to the continuous surface warming or climate change in the recent times. The new study will help researchers enhance their systems used to predict precipitation change.