A study suggests that by the end of the century, summer weather could persist for half a year if there are no efforts done to mitigate climate change.
In the past 60 years, summer has increased by about 17 days on average globally. Yuping Guan, the lead author, and researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences says that summer weather is getting hotter and longer while winter is shrinking and getting warmer due to global warming.
Longer summers sound like a dream for most, with more time and dry weather for family vacations and outdoor activities. However, extended summers could have a significant impact on public health, agriculture, and the environment.
Mosquito-borne diseases could become more widespread, heatwaves could get longer, allergy seasons could turn more severe, and crop seasons would be longer.
Longer Summer Days
A study published in the journal Advancing Earth and Space Sciences, entitled "Changing Lengths of the Four Seasons by Global Warming" shows that warming global temperatures are making the hottest quarter of the year or summer gets longer, affecting all the other seasons.
Researchers note that the onset of summer and spring will advance, while autumn and winter will be delayed.
The team split the four seasons into percentiles, with temperatures above the 75th percentile of temperatures from 1952-2011 recognized as summer. Utilizing climate computer models, researchers were able to see how the date defined other seasons to change over time.
The study states that from 1952-2011, summer increased length from 78 to 95 days while winter and autumn days decreased from 124-115 to 87-82 and 76-73 days, respectively.
Many regions in the Northern Hemisphere are already experiencing longer summers. However, Mediterranean regions are growing more than 8 days per decade.
Global sea and land temperature rise continue to persist with the difference compared to the average is also growing. The last time annual global temperatures were below the global average was in the late 1970s. Data from NOAA shows that the last time the planet was cooler than normal was more than 40 years ago.
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Extended Summer Days Effects on Humanity
Other than the temperature warmings and shifting seasons, longer summer days have significant implications on humanity.
Agriculture is one facet of human life that will change due to long summer days. Spring is the season for growing crops across many parts of the U.S. when plant buds experience warmer temperatures at the beginning of the season, triggering the plant cycle.
Extreme weather changes, common occurrences with climate change will disrupt the typical growing cycle of plants and could mean more disastrous losses of crops that can't adapt to the extremes.
Additionally, shifting seasons could limit the types of crops that can be grown, encourage invasive species, and disrupt the function and structure of ecosystems.
The report also states that mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and malaria could become more widespread in warmer climates, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
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