More frequent and longer-lasting droughts caused by rising global temperatures pose significant risks to people and ecosystems around the world – according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA).
More frequent and longer-lasting droughts caused by rising global temperatures pose significant risks to people and ecosystems around the world – according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA).
The study shows even a modest temperature increase of 1.5°C will spell serious consequences in India, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Brazil and Egypt. These six countries were selected for study in the UEA project because they provide a range of contrasting sizes and different levels of development on three continents spanning tropical and temperate biomes, and contain forest, grassland and desert habitats.
The findings, ‘Quantification of meteorological drought risks between 1.5 °C and 4 °C of global warming in six countries’, are published today in the journal Climatic Change.
The paper, led by Dr Jeff Price and his colleagues in the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at UEA, quantified the projected impacts of alternative levels of global warming upon the probability and length of severe drought in the six countries.
Read more at University of East Anglia
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