The rains will replace snowfall in the Arctic for decades earlier than climatologists predicted. This conclusion came the international group of scientists based on improved models. The results of the study are presented in the article published in the Nature Communication magazine.
It is known that the Arctic region is heated much faster than the rest of the planet, as a result of melting sea ice, which saturates the air with water vapors and is likely to lead to a significant increase in precipitation. Now, scientists have shown that the transition from the annual amount of precipitation with the predominance of snowfall to precipitation with the predominance of the rain will happen on one or two decades earlier, if the current carbon dioxide emissions will be preserved.
On the other hand, if you manage to achieve the goal of the Paris Agreement and keep the growth of global temperatures by 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial, the prevalence of snow precipitation over rain in the Arctic will continue. However, if the worst scenario is implemented, it will have a catastrophic effect on both polar ecosystems and more southern latitudes. Thus, the reduction of snow cover will affect the reflection of solar heat and light from the surface of the Earth and, thus, contributes to warming.