Five lead editors were a part of this report, out of which three were NOAA scientists. The study states that climate events like temperature extremes can be linked to a rise in atmospheric greenhouse levels caused by human activities. However, the same cannot be said about activities involving precipitation.
A total of 28 individual events of 2014 were studied by 32 groups of scientists from around the world. These groups studied natural variability of climate as well as human induced variations. This year’s report also takes into account wildfires and the massive gains of ice in the Antarctic.
North America
The report suggests that the overall probability of California wildfires has increased due to human activities. However, no specific link was established for the 2014 event. Tropical cyclones which battered Hawaii were linked to human-induced climate change. Even the southeastern Canadian Prairies flooding was found to be associated with climate change on account of human activities.
South America
In South America, the Argentinian heat wave (December 2013) became five times more likely due to human-induced climate change. Shortage of water in Brazil was mainly a result of climate change but rising population and increased rate of consumption worsened the situation.
Europe
Extreme rainfall activity over the Cevennes Mountains in southern France became three times more likely, as compared to 1950, due to climate change. Also, human activities led to an increase in the probability of record annual mean warmth over Europe, NW Atlantic, and NE Pacific.
Middle East and Africa
The severity of the drought in East Africa has been linked to climate change. However, there are doubts regarding the role of climate change in the Middle East drought.
Asia
Extreme heat over Korea and China was found to be associated with human-induced climate change. The Jakarta floods became more likely due to climate change and other human activities.
The extreme snowstorm over the Himalayas was also affected by climate change. Lastly, human interference led to a rise in the probability of regional high sea surface temperature extremes, over the western tropical and northeast Pacific Ocean in 2014.
Australia
Heat waves across Australia have been linked directly with human-induced climate change. In addition to this, cases of frosts, snowfall over low-lying areas, and diminishing rainfall patterns were also found to be a result of climate change due to human drivers. The risk of an extreme five-day rainfall also increased as a result of human-caused climate change.
Antarctica
The Antarctic sea ice reached an all-time maximum due to wind anomaly which resulted in an increase in thermodynamic sea ice production. Such an event is becoming less likely due to climate change.
The report adds to our basic understanding of how human activities are actually affecting the nature of weather and climatic extremes across the globe. The Paris Climate Conference is just a few weeks away, and this collaborative report is ground-breaking, to say the least.
(Featured Image Credit: huffingtonpost.com)