North China Plain threatened by deadly heatwaves due to climate change and irrigation
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s41467-018-05252-y.pdf
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8.11 MB
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Author(s)
Kang, Suchul
Eltahir, Elfatih A. B.
Date Issued
July 2018
Journal
Nature Communications
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Citation
Kang, Suchul, and Elfatih A. B. Eltahir. “North China Plain Threatened by Deadly Heatwaves Due to Climate Change and Irrigation.” Nature Communications 9, no. 1 (July 31, 2018).
Version
Final published version
Abstract
North China Plain is the heartland of modern China. This fertile plain has experienced vast expansion of irrigated agriculture which cools surface temperature and moistens surface air, but boosts integrated measures of temperature and humidity, and hence enhances intensity of heatwaves. Here, we project based on an ensemble of high-resolution regional climate model simulations that climate change would add significantly to the anthropogenic effects of irrigation, increasing the risk from heatwaves in this region. Under the business-as-usual scenario of greenhouse gas emissions, North China Plain is likely to experience deadly heatwaves with wet-bulb temperature exceeding the threshold defining what Chinese farmers may tolerate while working outdoors. China is currently the largest contributor to the emissions of greenhouse gases, with potentially serious implications to its own population: continuation of the current pattern of global emissions may limit habitability in the most populous region, of the most populous country on Earth.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Singapore-MIT Alliance in Research and Technology (SMART)
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-05252-y
