Researchers in the U.S. West have developed a new AI tool that can help predict when heat waves will happen and show how they are connected to climate change.
The tool, described in Science Advances on Wednesday, is low-cost and can help scientists better understand the link between global warming and extreme weather events. This could change how future heat waves are predicted and help plan better strategies for dealing with climate change.
The research team, from Stanford and Colorado State University, trained AI models to forecast daily maximum temperatures using regional weather data and global temperature trends. They used climate simulations from 1850 to 2100 and applied them to real-world heat waves, like the deadly 2023 Texas heat wave. The study showed that global warming made this event 2.12 to 2.56 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than it would have been without climate change.
The study also warned that severe heat waves, similar to those seen in Europe, Russia, and India, could become more frequent if global temperatures keep rising.
Although the researchers are hopeful about the tool’s potential, they acknowledge that more work is needed before it can be used for important tasks like helping climate-related decisions or legal cases.
Lead author Jared Trok from Stanford said, “Extreme weather affects health, infrastructure, and ecosystems. To create effective solutions, we need to understand how much global warming impacts these events.”
Senior author Noah Diffenbaugh added, “AI hasn’t solved all the challenges, but this new method is an exciting step forward that could be used in many ways.”
Source: thehill
