Recent Data Shows Monsoons Are Getting Worst Due to Global Warming

Climate change has been affecting the monsoon season for years, according to scientists. According to previous studies based on computer models, global warming induced by greenhouse gases and more moisture in the warmer atmosphere would result in rainier summer monsoon seasons and unexpected, intense rainfall events.

Anders Levermann, a professor of climate system dynamics at the Potsdam Institute in Germany who was not involved in the current article but has published research on climate model monsoon forecasts, expressed his delight at seeing research that backed up the findings of forward-looking climate models.

"It's a vast amount of information," he added, "and it's very great to see the physical laws that we encounter every day leave their imprints in this extraordinarily rich paleo-record in actual data that represents more than a million years of our planet's history."

Dire Consequences

The consequences are dire, according to Dr. Levermann; the monsoon already drops massive amounts of rain and "can always be destructive," he said, but the risk of "catastrophically strong" seasons is growing.

Moreover, the seasons' increasingly erratic nature poses its own risks. "And it's affecting the world's greatest democracy, as well as, in many respects, the world's most difficult democracy," he said.

During a two-month study cruise aboard the JOIDES Resolution, a converted oil-drilling ship, Dr. Clemens and other researchers obtained their samples. On a mission that began in November 2014, it carried a crew of 100 people and 30 scientists.
Unfortunately, he recalled, "We were gone over Christmas," and though "it's difficult to be away from family for so long," the payoff has arrived. "We've been working on these data sets for years," he added. It feels good to have things out in the open."

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