Global warming will exacerbate rainfall extremes - both deluges and droughts - more than most climatologists have predicted, according to a study of satellite data and climate models in the journal Science today.
Experts agree that heavy rain will fall more frequently in a warmer world, because higher temperatures increase the amount of energy and water vapour that can be stored in the atmosphere. But computer models underestimate the likely intensification of rainfall, say Richard Allan of Reading university and Brian Soden of Miami.
