Climate Letter #983

You can easily learn to read and follow the equatorial rain belt, found at this link (scroll down):

In most cases, purchase generic levitra people usually go through the conventional methods of getting a prognosis before treatment can be diagnosed. There is one big down side viagra spain to this treatment, especially in male infertility caused by prostatitis. cialis pills wholesale You can get these flavonoids from blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, grapes, pears, cherries, red wine and citrus fruits. These tablets are an affordable option to the popular discount viagra sales s and can be used by men of any age group.

The belt is in place all year, marked in green by almost daily showers, on line with the equator but straying a bit toward the side that is in summer.  It now shows up as a straight line that is relatively narrow as it crosses the Pacific from west to east, bringing lots of rain to Central America, the northern tier of South American countries and a similar tier in central Africa, until it becomes currently interrupted in the middle of Ethiopia.  That is followed by a gap which ends in the middle of the Indian Ocean, after which the belt is renewed in a much wider and more solid phase that runs all the way to the mid-Pacific.  Changes in this pattern occur during the year, but only as variations of a fairly basic theme.  Following the belt’s appearance on a daily basis helps one understand what is happening in many places that are in the news because of severe weather or climate events, such as those reported in the following two stories:
—–
Updating the drought in eastern Ethiopia.  What’s new here is that nothing has improved, livestock keep dying and millions of people are still badly in need of food.  I am sure the same can be said for Somalia, a large part of Kenya and other places.
—–
Massive flooding in parts of southern Asia.  Some regions are being drenched day after day by monsoon rains, creating a serious humanitarian crisis that includes hundreds of fatalities.  The warmer the air becomes the greater the total amount of rainfall that can be expected.  This section of the world is historically the most exposed of all.
—–
In parts of Canada records are being broken for heat and wildfires, with the season not yet over (a Joe Romm report).  Studies have shown that boreal forests store almost twice as much carbon per acre as tropical forests.  A meaningful part of that carbon is now heading into the atmosphere.
—–
An update on the Antarctic ozone hole, by Fred Pearce (Yale e360).  The Montreal Protocol that was signed thirty years ago has prevented further expansion but so far has done little to reduce its size.  Fred goes over the reasons why, which are numerous and complicated, involving dozens of different chemicals, and also include an effect that the global warming trend in the lower atmosphere has on the stratosphere.
—–
A bit of good news—the central core of the East Antarctic ice sheet is unlikely to melt for a very long time.  That is because the bottom rests on land that is above sea level while the upper surface is at a high enough altitude where the air is too cold for melting.  Some areas along the perimeter are not so well positioned nor is most of  West Antarctica.
Carl

This entry was posted in Daily Climate Letters. Bookmark the permalink.