Global warming stretches subtropical boundaries
The atmosphere is warming faster in subtropical areas - around 30° north and south of the equator - than anywhere else in the world, according to a study of more than 25 years of satellite data. And the process appears to be driven by climate change.
Researchers analysed the tropical air circulation pattern - which brings rain to the equator and dries the subtropics - and found that this climate belt has expanded by about 1° of latitude, or about 70 miles, towards both the north and south poles over the past 27 years.
This in turn means that the north and south jet streams - the rivers of fast-moving air that form the boundaries between warm tropical air and cold polar air - have also moved correspondingly closer to each pole. This could lead to rapidly expanding deserts, leading to the desertification of Europe.
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