Day-to-day temperature fluctuations increase heavily in recent decades

(MENAFN) New research indicates that sharp temperature changes from one day to the next have increased significantly in recent decades, especially across low- and mid-latitude regions where most of the global population resides. These abrupt shifts, a relatively underexamined form of extreme weather, are becoming more frequent, more intense, and more severe.

The analysis examined historical climate records spanning from 1961 to 2020, alongside projections extending to the end of the century. The findings show that sudden daily temperature jumps are accelerating worldwide, with the strongest growth occurring outside high-latitude regions, which have seen comparatively fewer such events.

The trend is primarily linked to rising greenhouse gas emissions. Additional contributing factors include drier soil conditions, increased fluctuations in air pressure, and greater variability in soil moisture. Together, these elements are driving heightened day-to-day weather instability, particularly in warmer parts of the world.

Researchers cautioned that climate change is making daily temperature patterns increasingly erratic in these regions and warned that this volatility is expected to intensify further as the century progresses.

The most pronounced increases were identified in the western United States, eastern China, parts of South America, and the Mediterranean region. Over decade-long periods, temperature swing intensity rose by as much as 11.1 degrees Celsius in the western US, 9.4 degrees in eastern China, 12.4 degrees in South America, and 7.1 degrees in the Mediterranean basin.

Unprecedented daily temperature fluctuations were recorded in 2022, with eastern China experiencing a 22.9-degree Celsius swing and the western United States registering a 20.3-degree shift. The findings indicate that temperature changes of this magnitude, once rare, are now occurring far more frequently than under past climate conditions.

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