Japan's record snow in February attributed to global warming
Global warming contributed to record snowfall in northern and eastern Japan in February, increasing the amount of snow by up to 10%, the Meteorological Agency said in a report released Tuesday.
The country experienced an unusually harsh winter, with heavy precipitation in wide areas this year. Last year, it had its hottest year on record .
A Meteorological Agency committee studying extreme weather said such conditions were due to a mix of factors, including Westerlies meandering above the skies, curving southward around Japan and bringing cold air with it.
Based on 'event attribution' research by a group of scientists who conducted weather simulations with and without climate change, the agency committee concluded that the two heavy snow events observed in February were influenced by global warming.
Warming is known to increase the volume of precipitation because atmospheric and sea temperatures create more water vapor, which turns into snow when exposed to cold air.
In one snow event studied — which hit Tohoku and eastern Japan, including Yamagata and Niigata prefectures — global warming caused precipitation to increase by 6% in the week from Feb. 3, the researchers said. The increase attributable to warming was steeper, at 7%, in mountainous areas 500 meters above sea level or higher, while the increase was milder on flatlands in lower altitudes, at 4%.
Meanwhile, in Hokkaido's Tokachi area, the amount of snowfall for the peak six hours from the night of Feb. 3 to the morning of Feb. 4 increased 10% due to climate change, the researchers said.
'Snowfall and snow accumulation are expected to go down with global warming,' the agency said in a statement. 'But (the analysis) suggests that global warming can increase snowfall when there is an inflow of strong cold air.'
Hisashi Nakamura, a professor at the University of Tokyo who chairs the extreme weather committee at the agency, told reporters it was rare for Japan to experience two cold snaps in February. But he urged people to prepare for heavier snow in the future, noting the meandering of the Westerlies is likely to continue.
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