To Bring an End to Global Warming – Make it Rain
Over the last 40 years, the average global temperature has risen by 1°C and the catastrophic storm risk has tripled, as the latent heating power of the atmosphere grew, driven by the 15% increase in the average global concentration of the primary greenhouse gas, water vapor. Global warming and the catastrophic storm risk only worsen as the average global concentration of water vapor continues to increase at 0.4% yr.-1 driving the average global temperature up at 0.2°C per decade. As the latent heating power of the atmosphere rose, the annual number of catastrophic, weatherrelated events increased to over 750, by 2019, 525 above the 1980 baseline of 225 annual events. Since 1980, these weather-related catastrophic events have taken tens of thousands of lives, wiped out whole communities while wreaking 4.6 trillion dollars in cumulative worldwide weatherrelated destruction, of which 2.4 trillion dollars is the result of global warming driven increasing atmospheric latent heating power, as shown by the close correlation of major weatherrelated events with the average global temperature record (correlation coefficient 0.84). The annual number of catastrophic weather-related events has increased at an average rate of 11.8 yr.-1 or 45 per tenth of degree increase in temperature. In addition to major loss of life, these catastrophic weather-related events are currently inflicting annual economic losses of an additional 130 billion dollars annually above baseline. Action has to be taken, now. The only solution proffered, reducing carbon emissions, can only limit the rate of increase in the concentration of CO2. If carbon emissions were wholly eliminated, CO2 will remain at or close to the highest level reached to that date. There are no practicable mechanisms to reduce the concentration of CO2. Any meaningful net, natural reduction in the concentration of CO2 would take centuries. However, the concentration of the primary greenhouse gas, water vapor can be reduced. New principles of atmospheric physics are applied to determine changes in the average global concentration of water vapor in response to changes in heating and sea surface temperatures and gauge the effect of these changes on global temperature. These principles demonstrate that by reducing the global concentration of atmospheric water vapor, the rate of increase in the average global temperature can be reduced and with sufficient reduction, the temperature increases can be reversed. A one time increase in the average, global rate of precipitation of 0.3%, 2.9 mm yr-1 can return the average global temperatures to those of the mid-seventies. While it has taken 40 years to get here, this solution might be effected within a few years.
