A new study indicates that rising concentrations of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere will bring more rain to wet parts of the world and dry out already-arid regions. The NASA-led effort analyzed computer simulations from 14 climate models.
“In response to carbon dioxide-induced warming, the global water cycle undergoes a gigantic competition for moisture, resulting in a global pattern of increased heavy rain, decreased moderate rain and prolonged droughts in certain regions,” said William Lau of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and lead author of the study.
Areas such as the equatorial Pacific Ocean and Asian monsoon regions will face increased precipitation. Regions likely to see less precipitation include northwestern Australia, northeastern Brazil, coastal Central America, northwestern China, Mexico, the Middle East, North Africa, South Africa and the southwestern United States.