Arctic winter warming causes frost damage in subtropics of East Asia – Is it increasing because of that?
UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH
CREDIT: GABRIELA SCHAEPMAN-STRUB, EXPAND OF THE CENTURY OF ART, 2021
Due to climate change, winters in the Arctic are getting warmer. An international study by UZH researchers shows that Arctic warming causes temperature anomalies and cold damage thousands of kilometers away in East Asia. This results in reduced vegetation growth, later blooms, smaller harvests and reduced CO . emissions2 absorption of the forests in the area.
Over the past few days, the east coast of the US has experienced heavy snowfall and temperatures as low as southern Florida. An international team of researchers from Switzerland, South Korea, China, Japan and the UK has found that warmer Arctic winters are also causing this type of extreme winter weather in East Asia. . The cooler southerly winters reduce vegetation activity in evergreen subtropical regions and continue to negatively affect the ecosystem in spring, for example by broken branches under heavy snow or leaves damaged by frost. “Colder winters also reduce agricultural yields of cereals, fruits, root vegetables and other crops,” said first author Jin-Soo Kim of the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Research at the University of Zurich. beans”.
Globally Connected Weather Events
The scientists combined the earth system model, satellite data and local observations for the study. They also analyzed the sea surface temperature index from the Barents-Kara Sea and found that during years with above-average Arctic temperatures, changes in atmospheric circulation lead to climate change. anomalies across East Asia. In particularly cold years, adverse conditions adversely affect plant growth and crop yields, delaying flowering. Furthermore, the researchers estimated a regional decline in carbon sequestration of 65 megatons of carbon during winter and spring (for comparison, fossil fuel emissions in Switzerland were 8.8 megatons). carbon per year). Therefore, the reduction in carbon sequestration caused by climate change is another issue that must be taken into account when discussing carbon neutrality.
Climate change causes ecological and socioeconomic damage
Man-made Arctic warming of greenhouse gases is causing economic and social harm to people far south of the subtropics. Gabriela Schaepman-Strub, co-author of the study, said: “This study highlights the complexity of the impacts of climate change. While we observed strong warming in the Arctic system, particularly in the Barents-Kara Sea, we found that this warming affects ecosystems thousands of kilometers away and for weeks through a climate telematics connection. Arctic warming will not only threaten polar bears, but will affect us in many other ways.”
JOURNEYS
Earth & Environment Communication
DOI
RESEARCH METHODS
Data analysis / statistics
RESEARCH SUBJECTS
Do not apply
ARTICLE TITLE
Cold Damages from Arctic Warming to Terrestrial Ecosystems in East Asia
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
February 1, 2022
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