Impact of anthropogenic warming on emergence of extreme precipitation over global land monsoon area

Abstract

Human activities have led to a global temperature increase, and the primary objective of the Paris Agreement is to limit this rise to 1.5 °C of warming level. Understanding the impact of global warming beyond preindustrial conditions on precipitation intensity is crucial for devising effective adaptation and mitigation strategies, particularly in densely populated global land monsoon (GLM) regions. However, the time of emergence (ToE) of extreme summer monsoon precipitation and its dependency on global warming targets has rarely been investigated. Using large ensemble simulations forced by the SSP3-7.0 scenario, we reveal that the impacts of anthropogenic forcing on extreme precipitation intensity become evident in GLM regions before 2050, accompanied by a sudden expansion in areas where the ToE of extreme precipitation occurs. Furthermore, our study demonstrates that achieving the Paris Agreement goal at 1.5 °C of global warming level can prevent the ToE of extreme precipitation in Asian and African monsoon regions. This, in turn, has the potential to halve the number (over one billion) of individuals exposed to extreme precipitation. These findings highlight the urgent need for action to mitigate the risk associated with anthropogenic warming induced climate change. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd.