Greenhouse Warming Bring Dry Hot Summers To Eastern U.S. States In Future

NASA scientists have warned that greenhouse gas warming may raise average summer temperatures in the eastern part of United States by nearly 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the 2080s.

"There is the potential for extremely hot summertime temperatures in the future, especially during summers with less-than-average frequent rainfall," said lead author Barry Lynn of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Columbia University, New York.

The research found that eastern US summer daily high temperatures that currently average in the low-to-mid-80s (degrees Fahrenheit) (26 degrees Celsius) will most likely soar to the low-to-mid-90s (32 degrees Celsius) during summers by the 2080s.

In extreme seasons "when precipitation falls infrequently July and August daily high temperatures could average between 100 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit. And the cities that will be particularly affected will be Chicago, Washington, and Atlanta," he said.

To reach their conclusions, researchers analyzed nearly 30 years of observational temperature and precipitation data and also used computer model simulations that considered soil, atmospheric, and oceanic conditions and projected changes in greenhouse gases.

The simulations were produced using a widely-used weather prediction model coupled with a global model developed by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

"The weather prediction model used is advantageous because it assesses details about future climate at a smaller geographic scale than global models, providing reliable simulations not only on the amounts of summer precipitation, but also on its frequency and timing," a release from the institute said.

1. Most of the sun's energy reaches the Earth. (The ozone layer shields the Earth from the sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation.)
2. About 30 percent of the energy is reflected back into space.
3. Burning of fossil fuels and deforestation increase carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Added to this are chlorofluorocarbons (human-made gases used in spray cans, refrigerants and insulations) and methane (from landfills, farming and swamps).
4. Together, these gases form a "blanket" which traps energy, thus warming the Earth.

Source: World Resources Institute, Changing Climate: A Guide to the Greenhouse Effect (1989).