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Originally published in Science Express on 31 May 2007
Science 13 July 2007:
Vol. 317. no. 5835, pp. 233 - 235
DOI: 10.1126/science.1140746

Reports

How Much More Rain Will Global Warming Bring?

Frank J. Wentz,* Lucrezia Ricciardulli, Kyle Hilburn, Carl Mears

Climate models and satellite observations both indicate that the total amount of water in the atmosphere will increase at a rate of 7% per kelvin of surface warming. However, the climate models predict that global precipitation will increase at a much slower rate of 1 to 3% per kelvin. A recent analysis of satellite observations does not support this prediction of a muted response of precipitation to global warming. Rather, the observations suggest that precipitation and total atmospheric water have increased at about the same rate over the past two decades.

Remote Sensing Systems, 438 First Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95401, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: frank.wentz{at}remss.com

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)