Tropical rainfall might be rising
NASA scientists have detected the first signs that tropical rainfall is on the rise, using the longest and most complete data record available.
The international scientific community assembled a 27-year global record of rainfall from satellite and ground-based instruments.
The researchers reported in the August issue of the Journal of Climate that the rainiest years from 1979 to 2005 occurred primarily after 2001. The wettest year was 2005, followed by 2004, 2003, 2002 and 1998. There was about a 5% rainfall increase in the tropics, with a slight decline over land.
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