A Drier Future Sets the Stage for More Wildfires

Human-generated greenhouse gases and atmospheric particles were affecting global drought risk as far back as the early 20th century, according to a study from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York City. The study compared real-world data with climate models, which predicted that human influences could be seen early in the 1900’s and would increase. To the researchers’ surprise, clear evidence of a human “fingerprint” — a global drought pattern more likely to occur if greenhouse gases are affecting the climate — emerged within the first half of the last century. While the study included various human and natural influences, the only one that consistently increased across the century and the globe was greenhouse gases, suggesting they drove the fingerprint. The study is the first to provide historical evidence connecting human-generated emissions and drought, suggesting that forward-looking climate models are accurately predicting future drought conditions and that humans play a key role in their location and severity, the team said. This visualization displays a global drought atlas dating back to 1400, created using data from tree rings. The data is displayed on a flat rectangular map projection with a simple overlay depicting the differences in tree ring sizes for dry and wet years. In the second half of the visualization, a ‘fingerprint’ thumbnail is introduced, which is an indicator for human influences on climate change. A signal-to-noise ratio graph is depicted comparing the fingerprint to both tree ring drought atlas data and observational meteorological data (CRU and Dai) Global ‘drought atlas’ data derived from tree rings running from 1400-2005. Green is wetter and brown is dryer. No titles. Note that the timing of the frames slows during the years 1900-2005. This graphic describes how thicker tree rings indicate a wet year, and thinner tree rings indicate dry years “Fingerprint” still image depicting a global pattern of drought more likely to occur if greenhouse gasses are affecting the climate This graph represents the signal-to-noise ratio of the fingerprint against tree ring drought atlas and observational meteorological data “Fingerprint” still image depicting a global pattern of drought more likely to occur if greenhouse gasses are affecting the climate. This version has no labels These are the corresponding dates for the Global ‘drought atlas’ visualization above

Droughts in the Southwest and Central Plains of the United States in the second half of the 21st century could be drier and longer than anything humans have seen in those regions in the last 1,000 years, according to a new NASA study published in Science Advances on Feb 12, 2015. The research found continued increases in human-produced greenhouse gas emissions drives up the risk of severe droughts in these regions. lon: [-180, -50] and lat: [9.5, 74.5] )

The Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) is one of the first places that scientists turn when volcanoes, wildfires, pollution plumes, dust storms and many other phenomena-both natural and manmade-make an appearance. The network of ground-based instruments, called sun photometers, measures the many tiny particles blowing about in the atmosphere called aerosols. The particles are often impossible to see with human eyes, but AERONET s processes at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference. Also available on YouTube This visualization by Dr. Bill Putman shows the global distribution of aerosols, generated by NASA’s GEOS-FP data assimilation system, from August 1, 2019 to January 14,2020. Different aerosol species are highlighted by color, including dust (orange), sea-salt (blue), nitrates (pink), sulfates (green), and carbon (red), with brighter regions corresponding to higher aerosol amounts. More information is available about this animation at https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/31100 Fire and smoke and the African AERONET Team in Africa. AERONET in Europe. The map shows red dots for every European AERONET observation site. European AERONET sites The 7 Seas AERONET sites. The map shows red dots for every observation installation in this region. Images of the team of scientists from the AERONET installations in the 7 Seas region. AERONET in the Japanese Alps. Topography changes the transport of aerosols and these direct measurements help scientists understand how aerosols move in high and low elevations. AERONET installation in South America. Rapid deforestation of the Amazon makes these measurements taken in South America even more critical to understanding the role global aerosols have on our planet. AERONET helps the science community understand the role clouds play in our climate system. Fire and smoke AERONET can detect unhealthy air quality Video footage to support a NASA campaign to tracks wildfire smoke for improved Air Quality. More information is available about this at https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13263 AERONET is only possible because of the cooperative efforts of the global AERONET community. Here are some of the people that make this data possible.From Clockwise, Beijing, Lille, Boulder, Valladolid, Greenbelt (GSFC). The photo above the Beijing group was contributed by Sharon J. Anderson, a story teller, taken at sunrise on Tuesday Oct. 5 on the Beltsville farm.

NASA has the world’s largest Earth observing fleet and has an uninterrupted record and observed evidence of climate change. Increased greenhouse gases trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere.Trapped atmospheric greenhouse gases warm the planet – our land, ocean, and atmosphere. Most of the global warming goes into the ocean, delaying the full impact of global warming. Ocean currents move the heat around the globe, impacting your local weather and climate. Warmer oceans accelerate melting of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica. Rising seas are a major consequence of climate change, impacting coastal communities, infrastructure, and economy. Warmer climate amplifies Earth’s water cycle. Dry areas are getting drier and wet areas are getting wetter. Wet areas are experiencing more flooding and extreme storms, such as typhoons and hurricanes. Drought prone areas will see less rainfall, effecting agriculture. NASA data are used for projections that can help inform actions for the future. More extreme conditions are occurring due to climate change, such as wildfires. NASA data and knowledge are open and free, enabling informed decision-making. NASA information aids preparation and recovery from natural hazards around the world Karen St. Germain, NASA 3, Sentinel-6MF NASA data are used for projections that can help inform actions for the future. Here is an example of yield projections from wheat and maize. Source is Jaegermeyer et al. 2021 CMIP6, AgMIP, NASA Goddard. NASA Informs Actionable Climate Decision MakingNASA information aids preparation and recovery from natural hazards around the world like tracking fires at https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/ Since 1993, NASA has continuously been measuring Sea Level Height of the global oceans. NASA data and knowledge are open and free, enabling informed decision-makingExample: planning for sea level rise on 10-100 year horizons at your coastal cityhttps://sealevel.nasa.gov (also at UNFCCC)