World’s wettest rainstorms are getting wetter, affecting flood and drought risk — SkimNews
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- Chiyuan Miao and colleagues at Beijing Normal University analyzed daily readings from more than 19,000 rain gauges worldwide between 1980 and 2022, finding that roughly nine multi-day storms delivered half of global annual rainfall over about 28 cumulative days.
- Intense downpours have shortened in duration and grown fewer in number since 1980, with average storm length falling about 86 minutes per decade and the delivery window for half of annual rainfall shrinking by just over 9.5 hours.
- Earth’s Future published the study, which found storm compression across all continents and regional differences in the rate of change.
- Europe and South America recorded the strongest compression, with the wettest storms shortening by as much as 144 minutes per decade.
- Regional consequences include changes to drought risk, flash flooding, water security, farm productivity, soil erosion and wildfire susceptibility.
Why it matters: For farmers and water managers, the regional differences are material: in Europe and South America, the wettest storms are shortening by up to 144 minutes per decade, while the study links region-specific changes to drought risk, flash flooding, water security, farm productivity, soil erosion and wildfire susceptibility.
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