A group of scientists in Japan has launched a new research center to rapidly analyze and quantify the impact of global warming on extreme weather events, aiming to make the impact of human-induced climate change more visible to the public.
The Weather Attribution Center Japan (WAC), founded Tuesday by an independent group of researchers specializing in a growing field of science called event attribution, aims to publicize the results of its assessment within days of a typhoon, torrential rain or extreme heat — while the impact of the weather event is still fresh in the minds of the public and policymakers. The researchers started studying the link between weather events and climate change about 15 years ago, but until now they have only been able to publish their results a few months after extreme weather occurs.
Conventional research methods take months because they require comparisons of massive simulations of data with and without climate change, the scientists said. The team came up with a way to expedite the process for events in Japan by preparing for analysis six to 14 days before the targeted weather event takes place.
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