NOAA Scientist Martin Hoerling Paints Picture of Increasing Drought in Mediterranean
By B. McPherson The area of the Mediterranean Sea east to Iran usually receives the bulk of its rainfall in the wintertime. According to figures released by NOAA scientist, Martin Hoerling, the last 20 winters have had 10 extremely dry winters in that area. This is not encouraging news for a region that already experiences water stress, because it implies natural variability alone is unlikely to return the region’s climate to normal.” NOAA News As the water temperature of the oceans increases due to planet warming, the atmosphere responds. When the Indian Ocean warms in response to planetary temperatures, it tends to push the weather systems north into central and northern Europe which then receive more precipitation while the arid south receives less. The NOAA scientists use data from many sources to reach their conclusions. The natural climate fluctuations may or may not be affected by humanity’s burning of fossil fuels. Humans may not be causing the Earth’s climate to...