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US Faces 'Extreme' Temperature Changes: Study
Washington (AFP) Oct 17, 2005 The continental United States will face more extreme temperatures during the next century and worse rainfall along its Gulf Coast which has been ravaged by hurricanes this year, according to a climate study released Monday. The study, published on the online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, warned that greenhouse gases will likely swell to twice their current levels by the century's end. "Imagine the weather during the hottest two weeks of the year," lead researcher Noah Diffenbaugh said, referring to northeast United States. "The area could experience temperatures in that range lasting for periods of up to two months by century's end," he said. Researchers claimed the study, run on supercomputers at Purdue University in Indiana state, is the most comprehensive climate model to date. It predicts the southwest United States could endure as much as a 500 percent increase in hot events, leaving less water for the growing population, that the Gulf Coast region would receive more rainfall in shorter time spans and that summers in the northeast would be shorter and hotter. Overall, the United States would experience a warming trend, the study predicts. "The changes our model predicts are large enough to substantially disrupt our economy and infrastructure," said Diffenbaugh, an assistant professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at Purdue University. In addition to greenhouse gasses, the model considered factors such as ocean currents, cloud formations and vegetation. The model considered circumstances not fully included in previous models, such as snow which reflects energy from the sun back into space, and mountain peaks, which can stand in the way of travelling weather fronts. Scientists also checked the model's efficacy by analyzing the period 1961 to 1985. "The model performed admirably," Diffenbaugh said, adding it's "the most detailed projection of climate change that we have for the US." Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express
UN Urges Early Warning Systems To Combat Desertification
Nairobi (AFP) Oct 17, 2005More than 250 million people worldwide are directly affected by creeping desertification, the United Nations said Monday, urging the creation of early warning systems to fight the expansion of deserts. |
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