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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

‘Rivers in the sky’ to deliver more drenchings as Earth warms

Atmospheric rivers, which carry moisture towards the poles, are expected to intensify unless greenhouse-gas emissions are curbed.
Satellite image showing an arc of clouds stretching from Hawaii to the Pacific Northwest

An arc of clouds traces an atmospheric river travelling from Hawaii to the US Pacific Northwest. Such air streams are likely to transport more moisture as the climate changes. Credit: Joshua Stevens/NOAA/NESDID/NASA GSFC

Climate change hasn’t yet had a noticeable influence on atmospheric rivers, narrow air streams that carry huge amounts of moisture towards the poles. But these ‘rivers in the sky’, which bring downpours to mid-latitude coastal regions, could become markedly more extreme if atmospheric greenhouse-gas concentrations continue to rise steeply1.

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Nature 598, 238 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02681-6

References

  1. Baek, S. H. & Lora, J. M. Nature Clim. Change https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01166-8 (2021).

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