
Study finds planetary waves linked to wild summer weather have tripled since 1950
'A classic pattern would be like a high pressure out west (in the United States) and a low pressure back East and in summer 2018, that's exactly what we had,' Mann said. 'We had that configuration locked in place for like a month. So they (in the West) got the heat, the drought and the wildfires. We (in the East) got the excessive rainfall.'
'It's deep and it's persistent,' Mann said. 'You accumulate the rain for days on end or the ground is getting baked for days on end.'
The study finds this is happening more often because of human-caused climate change, mostly from the burning of fossil fuels, specifically because the Arctic warms three to four times faster than the rest of the world. That means the temperature difference between the tropics and the Arctic is now much smaller than it used to be and that weakens the jet streams and the waves, making them more likely to get locked in place, Mann said.
'This study shines a light on yet another way human activities are disrupting the climate system that will come back to bite us all with more unprecedented and destructive summer weather events,' said Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center who wasn't involved in the research.
'Wave resonance does appear to be one reason for worsening summer extremes. On top of general warming and increased evaporation, it piles on an intermittent fluctuation in the jet stream that keeps weather systems from moving eastward as they normally would, making persistent heat, drought, and heavy rains more likely,' Francis said.

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Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Hindustan Times
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Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Hindustan Times
We must stay prepared for extreme heat and flooding
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Whether in Delhi, Dhaka, Dakar, or Denver, adaptation is now the frontline of the climate crisis. Adaptation is not a fallback, it is the defence. How hardened are our cities, health systems, communities and economies? That will determine how many lives are saved, and how much suffering is averted. The question is no longer will we be hit? How hard and how ready are we? This article is authored by Ananya Raj Kakoti, scholar, international relations, Jawaharlal Nehru University.


Time of India
16-07-2025
- Time of India
Santa's village swelters: Even travelling to the Arctic Circle won't save you from a heatwave
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