Human Action 'Changing Rainfall' In Developing World

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http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=3788&language=1

Human action 'changing rainfall' in developing world
The developing world is experiencing changes in rainfallMaryke Steffens
31 July 2007
Source: SciDev.Net

Humans are responsible for the global changes in rainfall observed over the past few decades, most notably decreases in rainfall in sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia, according to scientists.

The research was published last week in the journal Nature (26 July).

These changes in precipitation will be much more difficult to deal with than any future changes in temperature, says Francis Zwiers, director of the Climate Research Division from Environment Canada, and an author of the research.

Researchers from Environment Canada split the globe into latitudinal (horizontal) bands and compared the changes in precipitation in these areas with changes predicted by various climate models over the past 75 years.

They found that the observed rainfall patterns couldn't be accounted for by natural variation in precipitation — those caused by natural changes in climate, or volcanic eruptions and changes in solar radiation, which can also cause changes in rainfall.

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Bwango Apuuli, deputy director of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development's Climate Prediction and Applications Centre in Nairobi, Kenya says more extreme climate events in Africa, like drought, will "threaten livelihoods and increase vulnerabilities of the communities who are mostly poor". A changing climate will threaten food security, and put more people at risk of malnutrition and disease, he says.

Apuuli says that there are currently several projects helping communities adapt to extreme climate events by disseminating information on drought and rain harvesting, irrigation, drought resistant and quick maturing crops, and replanting forests.

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The link for the Nature report is at the link for this article.