Intensification of Very Wet Monsoon Seasons in India Under Global Warming

Abstract Rainfall‐intense summer monsoon seasons on the Indian subcontinent that are exceeding long‐term averages cause widespread floods and landslides. Here we show that the latest generation of coupled climate models robustly project an intensification of very rainfall‐intense seasons (June–Septe...

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Main Authors: Anja Katzenberger, Anders Levermann, Jacob Schewe, Julia Pongratz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2022-08-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098856
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author Anja Katzenberger
Anders Levermann
Jacob Schewe
Julia Pongratz
author_facet Anja Katzenberger
Anders Levermann
Jacob Schewe
Julia Pongratz
author_sort Anja Katzenberger
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Rainfall‐intense summer monsoon seasons on the Indian subcontinent that are exceeding long‐term averages cause widespread floods and landslides. Here we show that the latest generation of coupled climate models robustly project an intensification of very rainfall‐intense seasons (June–September). Under the shared socioeconomic pathway SSP5‐8.5, very wet monsoon seasons as observed in only 5 years in the period 1965–2015 are projected to occur 8 times more often in 2050–2100 in the multi‐model average. Under SSP2‐4.5, these seasons become only a factor of 6 times more frequent, showing that even modest efforts to mitigate climate change can have a strong impact on the frequency of very strong rainfall seasons. Besides, we find that the increasing risk of extreme seasonal rainfall is accompanied by a shift from days with light rainfall to days with moderate or heavy rainfall. Additionally, the number of wet days is projected to increase.
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issn 0094-8276
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publishDate 2022-08-01
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series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-b0ff866dc9ac4fb4841a06314695aff22025-08-20T02:12:53ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072022-08-014915n/an/a10.1029/2022GL098856Intensification of Very Wet Monsoon Seasons in India Under Global WarmingAnja Katzenberger0Anders Levermann1Jacob Schewe2Julia Pongratz3Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research Potsdam GermanyPotsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research Potsdam GermanyPotsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research Potsdam GermanyLudwig‐Maximilian University Munich GermanyAbstract Rainfall‐intense summer monsoon seasons on the Indian subcontinent that are exceeding long‐term averages cause widespread floods and landslides. Here we show that the latest generation of coupled climate models robustly project an intensification of very rainfall‐intense seasons (June–September). Under the shared socioeconomic pathway SSP5‐8.5, very wet monsoon seasons as observed in only 5 years in the period 1965–2015 are projected to occur 8 times more often in 2050–2100 in the multi‐model average. Under SSP2‐4.5, these seasons become only a factor of 6 times more frequent, showing that even modest efforts to mitigate climate change can have a strong impact on the frequency of very strong rainfall seasons. Besides, we find that the increasing risk of extreme seasonal rainfall is accompanied by a shift from days with light rainfall to days with moderate or heavy rainfall. Additionally, the number of wet days is projected to increase.https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098856Indian monsoonclimate modelingextreme seasonsclimate changeCMIP6India
spellingShingle Anja Katzenberger
Anders Levermann
Jacob Schewe
Julia Pongratz
Intensification of Very Wet Monsoon Seasons in India Under Global Warming
Geophysical Research Letters
Indian monsoon
climate modeling
extreme seasons
climate change
CMIP6
India
title Intensification of Very Wet Monsoon Seasons in India Under Global Warming
title_full Intensification of Very Wet Monsoon Seasons in India Under Global Warming
title_fullStr Intensification of Very Wet Monsoon Seasons in India Under Global Warming
title_full_unstemmed Intensification of Very Wet Monsoon Seasons in India Under Global Warming
title_short Intensification of Very Wet Monsoon Seasons in India Under Global Warming
title_sort intensification of very wet monsoon seasons in india under global warming
topic Indian monsoon
climate modeling
extreme seasons
climate change
CMIP6
India
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098856
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AT anderslevermann intensificationofverywetmonsoonseasonsinindiaunderglobalwarming
AT jacobschewe intensificationofverywetmonsoonseasonsinindiaunderglobalwarming
AT juliapongratz intensificationofverywetmonsoonseasonsinindiaunderglobalwarming