As the climate warms, mountain regions will get more extreme rainfall than previously thought, and more of the dangers that come with it, according to a study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature. While scientists have studied how climate change may increase extreme precipitation overall, until now they hadn’t teased apart how much of the most extreme precipitation will fall as snow and how much as rain. The distinction is important because rain tends to produce more hazards for humans than snow does, including floods, landslides and soil erosion. As the planet heats up, snow is starting to turn into rain, even in the mountains. This increase in extreme rainfall is “almost double” the increase in total extreme precipitation, including both rain and snow, that climate scientists previously expected.

---

Persons: ”, Mohammed Ombadi Organizations: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory