NEW DELHI, Apr 22: Rapid “flips” in temperatures that switch between hot and cold extremes in a relatively short time have increased in 60 per cent of the world’s areas over the past 60 years, according to a study.
Researchers, including those from Sun Yat-sen University in China and Princeton University, US, found the largest increases in South America, western Europe, Africa, and South and Southeast Asia.
They also projected the trend to spread to most areas in the future, with low-income countries possibly seeing the greatest increases in these “rapid temperature flips” — about four to six times more than the world’s average.
The team explained that because of the limited time available to adapt to temperature changes, these flips could magnify the negative effects of hot and cold extremes on societies and nature, impacting humans and animals, infrastructure and agriculture.
While evidence is emerging that shows the impacts of temperature extremes, such as a heightened risk of heart attacks and strokes in humans, “little is known about the wider effects of rapid shifts between the two”, the researchers added.
For the study, published in the journal ‘Nature Communications’, the team analysed the data of temperature flips recorded on a global level between 1961 and 2023.
“Of the global areas defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, over 60 per cent have experienced more frequent, intense, and rapid flips since 1961, and this trend will expand to most areas in the future,” the authors wrote.
Under a high-emissions scenario — where greenhouse gas emissions continue rising throughout the 21st century — flips in temperatures are expected to become more rapid and intense between 2071 and 2100.
People across the world exposed to rapid shifts in temperatures are projected to increase by over 100 per cent under a high-emissions scenario.
“Global population exposure will increase over one-fold, which is exacerbated in low-income countries (4.08–6.49 times above the global average),” the authors wrote.
However, taking actions to slash emissions could limit the world’s exposure to rapid flips in temperatures, they said.
They added that the study highlights the urgency for tackling emissions to mitigate temperature flips and their effects under global warming. (PTI)
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