rainfall
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Earth
Amazon forest loss leads to measurable reductions in local rainfall
The characteristics of land surface. Credit: AGU Advances (2025). doi:10.1029/2025av001670 The Amazon Basin lost approximately 27,000 square kilometers of forest each year from 2001 to 2016. By 2021, approximately 17% of the basin had been deforested. Changes in forest cover can affect surface albedo, evapotranspiration, and other factors that can alter precipitation patterns. And as the largest tropical forest on…
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Environment
Rainfall in Arabia was five times more extreme 400 years ago
Brinepools are one of the most extreme environments on the planet, but despite their high salt content, exotic chemistry, complete lack of oxygen, these pools are full of life and unique in the Earth’s rainfall patterns We provide a record of the Credit:AceanXPlorer New research reconstructing extreme rainfall in Arabia reveals that the area’s rainfall is five times as extreme…
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Earth
The separation of arid land storage and rainfall highlights human shocks
The attribution of surface water storage changes to precipitation, basin hydrology, and human water management. Credit: Zhao Gang Featuring aridity index (AI) of less than 0.65, the arid land covers around 45% of the Earth’s land and supports over 3 billion people. Severe water shortages in these regions pose serious risks to human well-being and ecosystems. However, understanding of long-term…
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Earth
Clouds obscure the relationship between extreme rainfall and rising temperatures
Scaling of precipitation extremes by temperature at the time of observation. Credit: Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55143-8 Extreme rainfall is typically defined as the heaviest 5% of rainfall in a given region. As global temperatures rise, scientists expect extreme rainfall to increase. Because warm air can hold more moisture. Recent examples of more extreme rainfall have been evident in further…
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Environment
Satellite observations reveal that changes in rainfall patterns affect crops and forests
Earth’s rainy days are changing, and plant life is responding. This visualization shows global average precipitation based on over 20 years of data from 2000 to 2023. Cooler colors indicate areas with less rainfall. Warmer colors receive more rain. Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio A new NASA-led study has found that how the rain falls in a given year is…
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Environment
Scientists find that climate change is contributing to droughts in the American West, even without rainfall deficits
The Enterprise Bridge passes over a portion of nearly dry Lake Oroville on September 30, 2014 in Oroville, California. Credit: Andrew Innerarity/California Department of Water Resources Rising temperatures caused by anthropogenic climate change turned a normal drought into an abnormal one, drying out the American West from 2020 to 2022. A study by climate scientists at UCLA and the National…
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