Global warming increases flooding in India
mongabay.com
December 1, 2006




Extreme rains are becoming more common in India as more moderate rains decline, increasing the risk of flooding, according to a study published in the journal Science.

The study, conducted by scientists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, found that heavy rain events -- one where at least 3.9 inches (100 mm) of rain fell -- are more frequent and severe than they were in 1951. The increase in heavy rains is offset by a decline in moderate rains, leaving overall rainfall levels unchanged overall. However the increase in heavy rain events means catastrophic flooding and landslides are more common said B.N. Goswami, lead author of the research.

Goswami said climate change, which has caused a 0.9 degree Fahrenheit (0.5 degree Celsius) increase in temperatures in India since 1950, is likely fueling the shift and may worsen in coming years as global temperatures continue to climb.

Citation: "Increasing Trend of Extreme Rain Events Over India in a Warming Environment" of Goswami B.N., Venugopal V., Sengupta D., Madhusoodanan M.S., Xavier Prince K. published in Science, volume 314, 1 December 2006





Recommend this article? Comments?
Digg this article | Hugg this article | Contact

News options



News index | RSS | Add to MyYahoo!


Advertisements:


Organic Apparel from Patagonia | Insect-repelling clothing


MONGABAY.COM
Mongabay.com seeks to raise interest in and appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while examining the impact of emerging trends in climate, technology, economics, and finance on conservation and development (more)

CONTENTS
Rainforests
Tropical Fish
News
Madagascar
Pictures
Kids' Site
Languages
Blog
T-shirts
Newsletter
About
Contact
Archives
Interns
Help


 
SUPPORT
Help support mongabay.com when you buy from Amazon.com



POPULAR PAGES
Rainforests
Rain forests
Amazon deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation stats
Why rainforests matter
Saving rainforests
Deforestation stats
Rainforest canopy

News
Most popular
Worth saving?
Forest conservation
Earth Day
Poverty alleviation
Cell phones in Africa
Seniors helping Africa
Oil palm in rainforests
Extinction debate
Extinction crisis
Extinction debate
Palm Oil
Borneo
Orangutans in Borneo

News topics
Amazon
Biofuels
Brazil
Carbon Finance
Climate Change
Deforestation
Energy
Happy-upbeat
Interviews
Oceans
Palm oil
Rainforests
Solutions
Wildlife
MORE TOPICS

Advertising by





T-SHIRTS

  • Madagascar Wildlife
  • Dancing lemurs
  • Don't fall asleep the sloths will eat you
  • Sucking on this frog may make you insane


    CALENDARS

  • Mount Kenya
  • East Africa Safari Wildlife
  • Kenya's Turkana People
  • Peru
  • African Wildlife
  • Alaska
  • China
  • Madagascar Chameleons


    CANVAS BAGS

  • Hallucinogenic frog bag
  • Madagascar wildlife bag







  • Copyright mongabay 2007