Climate Chronicle: Unprecedented Rainfall in the Sahara
Implications and Opportunities for Climate Action
🌧️ A Rainfall Event Like No Other 🌧️
In an astonishing meteorological twist, the Sahara Desert, renowned as one of the most arid regions on Earth, is set to experience a rainfall event that defies historical norms. Forecasts are predicting up to 500% of the normal monthly rainfall for September. Such occurrences are extremely rare—typically happening less than once per decade—highlighting the dramatic and unpredictable shifts in our planet's climate system.
Sahara Region
🏜️ THE SAHARA REGION 🏜️
Stretching over 9.2 million square kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, the Sahara Desert is traditionally characterized by its scorching heat and dryness. The region is governed by the subtropical ridge, a permanent high-pressure system that suppresses cloud formation and precipitation. However, the recent shift of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) northward has disrupted this norm, bringing unexpected rainfall deep into the desert.
Total Precipitation Map,Africa , NOAA GFvA6
Some areas of the Desert are forecast to see over 1 inch (25mm) of rainfall, which is 5-10 years’ worth of precipitation, making this truly remarkable event. Clearly the Inter Tropical Front moved forwards in position exposing the Sahara region to all this unexpected precipitation.
ITF Position North Africa, August 2024
Climate Change: A Global Challenge with Local Impacts
While the majority of greenhouse gas emissions are concentrated in the Northern Hemisphere, their impact is undeniably global. In this case it seems that the problem is far from our Europeans houses, but that doesn't meant that it is not affecting real people (2.5 million inhabitants for the Saharian region), and that we will not see further climate change impacts in our beloved Europe.
🌍 THE Butterfly Effect 🌍
It has been very much present the las 5 years that environment and soci-economical systems are very much tied to each other at a global scale. To mention some:
- Atmospheric Circulation: Emissions in one part of the world can influence weather patterns globally due to the interconnected nature of our atmosphere.
- Global Warming: Increased greenhouse gases lead to higher global temperatures, which in turn affect ocean currents and weather systems far removed from the original source of the emissions.
- Polar Feedback Loops: Melting polar ice reduces Earth's albedo, leading to further warming—a vicious cycle impacting global climate.
But just as emissions in one part of the world can impact global weather patterns, corporate sustainability initiatives can create far-reaching positive effects. This "Butterfly Effect" of corporate responsibility aims to create localized actions that can lead to significant global benefits.
Corporate responsibility in addressing climate change can be understood through four main pillars: economic, regulatory, operational, and societal.
🤝 Lets work together 🤝
There are many initiatives in the industry that aim to help companies address their corporate responsibility. Collaboration among different industries and sectors is fundamental to address a multi-disciplinary problem that affect all of us transversally.
Contact Us: For more information or to get involved in our sustainability initiatives, please reach out to us at fernando@terya.co
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