TS.5.3 Regional-Scale Projections

For each of the continental regions, the projected warming over 2000 to 2050 resulting from the SRES emissions scenarios is greater than the global average and greater than the observed warming over the past century. The warming projected for the next few decades of the 21st century, when averaged over the continents individually, would substantially exceed estimated 20th-century natural forced and unforced variability in all cases except Antarctica (Figure TS.29). Model best-estimate projections indicate that decadal average warming over each continent except Antarctica by 2030 is very likely to be at least twice as large as the corresponding model-estimated natural variability during the 20th century. The simulated warming over this period is not very sensitive to the choice of scenarios across the SRES set as is illustrated in Figure TS.32. Over longer time scales, the choice of scenario is more important, as shown in Figure TS.28. The projected warming in the SRES scenarios over 2000 to 2050 also exceeds estimates of natural variability when averaged over most sub-continental regions. {11.1}

Continental Surface Temperature Anomalies: Observations and Projections

Figure TS.29. Decadal mean continental surface temperature anomalies (°C) in observations and simulations for the period 1906 to 2005 and in projections for 2001 to 2050. Anomalies are calculated from the 1901 to 1950 average. The black lines represent the observations and the pink and blue bands show simulated average temperature anomalies as in Figure TS.22 for the 20th century (i.e., pink includes anthropogenic and natural forcings and blue includes only natural forcings). The yellow shading represents the 5th to 95th percentile range of projected changes according to the SRES A1B emissions scenario. The green bar denotes the 5th to 95th percentile range of decadal mean anomalies from the 20th-century simulations with only natural forcings (i.e., a measure of the natural decadal variability). For the observed part of these graphs, the decadal averages are centred on calendar decade boundaries (i.e., the last point is at 2000 for 1996 to 2005), whereas for the future period they are centred on calendar decade mid-points (i.e., the first point is at 2005 for 2001 to 2010). To construct the ranges, all simulations from the set of models involved were considered independent realisations of the possible evolution of the climate given the forcings applied. This involved 58 simulations from 14 models for the red curve, 19 simulations from 5 models (a subset of the 14) for the blue curve and green bar and 47 simulations from 18 models for the yellow curve. {FAQ 9.2, Figure 1 and Box 11.1, Figure 1}

In the NH a robust pattern of increased subpolar and decreased subtropical precipitation dominates the projected precipitation pattern for the 21st century over North America and Europe, while subtropical drying is less evident over Asia (see Figure TS.30). Nearly all models project increased precipitation over most of northern North America and decreased precipitation over Central America, with much of the continental USA and northern Mexico in a more uncertain transition zone that moves north and south following the seasons. Decreased precipitation is confidently projected for southern Europe and Mediterranean Africa, with a transition to increased precipitation in northern Europe. In both continents, summer drying is extensive due both to the poleward movement of this transition zone in summer and to increased evaporation. Subpolar increases in precipitation are projected over much of northern Asia but with the subtropical drying spreading from the Mediterranean displaced by distinctive monsoonal signatures as one moves from central Asia eastward. {11.2–11.5}

Seasonal Mean Precipitation Rates

Figure TS.30. Spatial patterns of observed (top row) and multi-model mean (middle row) seasonal mean precipitation rate (mm day^–1) for the period 1979 to 1993 and the multi-model mean for changes by the period 2090 to 2099 relative to 1980 to 1999 (% change) based on the SRES A1B scenario (bottom row). December to February means are in the left column, June to August means in the right column. In the bottom panel, changes are plotted only where more than 66% of the models agree on the sign of the change. The stippling indicates areas where more than 90% of the models agree on the sign of the change. {Based on same datasets as shown in Figures 8.5 and 10.9}

In the SH, there are few land areas in the zone of projected subpolar moistening during the 21st century, with the subtropical drying more prominent (see Figure TS.30). The South Island of New Zealand and Tierra del Fuego fall within the subpolar precipitation increase zone, with southernmost Africa, the southern Andes in South America and southern Australia experiencing the drying tendency typical of the subtropics. {11.2, 11.6, 11.7}

Projections of precipitation over tropical land regions are more uncertain than those at higher latitudes, but, despite significant inadequacies in modelling tropical convection and atmosphere-ocean interactions, and the added uncertainty associated with tropical cyclones, some robust features emerge in models. Rainfall in the summer monsoon season of South and Southeast Asia increases in most models, as does rainfall in East Africa. The sign of the precipitation response is considered less certain over both the Amazon and the African Sahel. These are regions in which there is added uncertainty due to potential vegetation-climate links, and there is less robustness across models even when vegetation feedbacks are not included. {8.3, 11.2, 11.4, 11.6}