Rain, Rain: Beijing Pollution Washes Away
by The Green A-TeamGreen Air Filter:
With wacky weather the world over, it seems the Games might have finally caught it’s breath from some recent downpours. The heavy rains have cleansed the smog and brightened up the skies over Beijing but is this reason to rejoice?
Global precipitation patterns have been changing as a result of rising atmospheric temperatures and many areas have received increased amounts of rain and snow over the course of this past year while some have received less.
Global warming increases the intensity of precipitation in two key ways:
1.) By increasing the temperature of the land and the oceans, global warming causes water to evaporate faster.
2.) By increasing air temperature, global warming enables the atmosphere to hold more water vapor.
These factors combine to make clouds richer with moisture, making heavy downpours or snowstorms more likely. With periods of heavy rains, it’s believed that these will punctuate longer periods of relative dryness, increasing the risk of drought.
It appears while the Games might have gotten their lucky weather break, the larger climate problem lingers all the more ominously overhead.
Photo by northcapital.