Geophysical Research Letters (May 2024)
Interactions Between Anthropogenic Greenhouse‐Gas and Aerosol Emissions Will Shape Extreme Precipitations Over the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau
Abstract
Abstract Attributing intensification extreme precipitation to anthropogenic factors on the regional scale is challenging, given the large fluctuations and the complexity of quantifying interactions among these anthropogenic factors. Here, we propose a new variance‐based method to investigate the roles of human‐induced greenhouse gas (GHG), aerosol (AER), and their interactions (GA) in shaping extreme precipitation on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau (QTP) at stational scale. In terms of contribution, GHG has the greatest impact on total wet‐day precipitation and simple daily intensity. In terms of significance, GA, and AER exert significant effects on all 10 extreme indices (P; < 0.05) over 48.3% and 44.8% of all stations, while GHG affects less (25.9%). Overall, GHG is not the only dominant factor, and GA and AER are expected to play vital roles in intensifying extreme precipitation over the QTP under SSP2‐4.5. These findings challenge the conventional insights that GHG is the primary anthropogenic driver of extreme precipitation.
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