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Carbon Dioxide: Precipitation
The effects of carbon dioxide (CO2) on precipitation patterns are a result of the effects of CO2 on average air temperature. Carbon dioxide cause the earth's average air temperature to increase. Higher temperatures cause particles in the earth's atmosphere to move faster. This creates more energy in the earth's atmosphere. The energy causes air and water to move around the planet. The result can be as simple as a slight breeze or as complex as the formation of a hurricane. The greater the amount of energy in the atmosphere, the more severe the weather. There is evidence of increased energy in the atmosphere over the United States, where the occurrence of severe weather has been increasing over the past century.

Image of a map showing precipitation trends across the United States from 1900 to the present. Please have someone assist you with this.In addition to increasing the energy in the atmosphere--and thus increasing the intensity of weather events-- elevated temperatures can cause increased evaporation from the earth's surface. This may lead to declines in the amount of precipitation at lower latitudes and increases in the amount of precipitation at higher latitudes. At lower latitudes, the temperature would be warmest. There would be much evaporation from these regions. The highly energized air would then carry the water vapor to higher latitudes. The excess water would eventually fall out as increased precipitation over these regions.  Over the past century, this trend has been observed. Although precipitation has increased globally by about 1% in the past century, the amount of precipitation in tropical areas has declined. At the same time, there has been nearly a 5% net increase in precipitation across the United States.  Precipitation trends across the United States for the past 100 years can be seen in the figure above. Image: Precipitation trends across the United States from 1900 to the present. Figure courtesy of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

 

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