The team behind the modeling points out that these irreversible changes in weather systems need to be factored into climate change planning, alongside the more common predictions around temperatures and rainfall on a global scale.
"It is impossible to properly reflect the complex climate system if only the average global temperature and precipitation levels are considered when creating mitigation policies to prevent climate change, such as carbon neutrality or carbon reduction,"suggest that temperature and precipitation might eventually get back to where they are now – albeit over several hundred years – the new research suggests the knock-on effects of shifting climate change aren't so clear.
In some parts of the world, climate change would be permanent even as CO2 levels dropped, these latest models show. North and South America were shown to have a 15 percent increase in precipitation, for example, risking more flooding even after CO2 levels dropped significantly. Meanwhile, the Sahel zone – which includes southern Europe and the Sahara Desert – experienced a 20 percent decrease in annual precipitation even after a carbon dioxide reset, which would be likely to lead to further desertification.
"The already emitted greenhouse gases have lasting effects on the planet so we need to recognize their long-term impacts as well as their immediate effect on climate change,"