China's record rainfall in 2020 - Increased vigilance 2022 - Climate Change - china floods

China's record rainfall in 2020 - Increased vigilance 2022Show more

Climate Change: Covid Shutdown Related to Record Rainfall in China

Scientists say the sharp decline in Covid's emissions played a key role in China's record rainfall in 2020.

The reduction of greenhouse gases and small particles called aerosols causes changes in the atmosphere that intensify rain.

During the summer, hundreds died and millions were evacuated with record rainfall.

However, long-term emission reductions are unlikely to trigger similar events.

The Changjiang has experienced the heaviest rainfall since 1961, with June and July increasing by 79% compared to the previous 41-year average.

Many scientific studies have investigated the causes of floods, some pointing to the extremes of the Indian Ocean.

Currently, an international team is proposing a new theory. They claim that the sudden decrease in greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions caused by the shutdown during the Covid-19 pandemic is the main cause of heavy rainfall.

In their study, the authors show that over the past 40 years, summer rainfall in eastern and central China has decreased significantly due to increased amounts of aerosols in the atmosphere.

These particles are often associated with the burning of coal and can reduce the occurrence of large-scale storms and reduce rainfall.

New research shows that the absence of these particles and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 will have the opposite effect, a significant increase in rainfall.

However, the sequence of events linking the end of the pandemic to the flood is complex.

"There is warming of the land due to the decrease in aerosols, but there is also the cooling of the ocean due to the decrease in greenhouse gases, and the temperature difference between the land and the sea in the summer will increase," said the chief author of Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology. One professor Yang Yang explains. China.

"This will increase the sea level pressure in the South China Sea / Philippines Sea, increase winds, bring moist air to eastern China, and cause heavy rainfall."

Most governments around the world are trying to reduce warming gas and aerosol emissions by moving energy systems away from fossil fuels. Is there a risk that making this shift could lead to extreme events like China experienced in 2020?

"That's a good question," said Professor Yang.

“When the Covid-19 pandemic occurred in early 2020, emissions were significantly reduced, resulting in immediate and sudden changes in various elements of the climate system.”

"This sudden change in the climate system will be very different from the change in response to sustainable but gradual policy-driven emission reductions."

The new study was published in the journal Nature Communications.

Heavy rain and flash flooding !Everyone is surrounded by a flash flood in tembisa - 2022
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