Spatial extent of precipitation events: when big is getting bigger

Abstract

Abstract Using a sub-selection of regional climate models at 0.11° ( $$\approx$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mo>≈</mml:mo> </mml:math> 12 km) grid resolution from the EURO-CORDEX ensemble, we investigate how the spatial extent of areas associated with the most intensive daily precipitation events changes as a consequence of global warming. We address this by analysing three different warming levels: 1 °C, 2 °C and 3 °C. We find that not only does the intensity of such events increase, but their size will also change as a function of the warming: larger systems becomes more frequent and larger, while systems of lesser extent are reduced in numbers.

Topics & Concepts