Abstract:
Moist heat poses a serious threat to human health by limiting the body’s ability to cool through evaporation. This is particularly important in India, home to more than 1.4 billion people, where high humidity during the summer monsoon coincides with widespread population exposure. Yet, the large-scale processes controlling moist heat and its long-term changes remain poorly understood.
In this talk, I will explore the large-scale controls on moist heat across India, focusing first on the intraseasonal variability during the summer monsoon. I will then show how moist heat has changed over the historical period and the contrasting influences of greenhouse gases and anthropogenic aerosols on these trends. Finally, I will highlight how moist heat may evolve under future climate change and what this could mean for heat-related risks across India.
What is the Joint Oslo Seminar (JOS):
- Atmospheric and climate sciences have a stronghold in Oslo among the four institutions University of Oslo, the Meteorological Institute, CICERO and NILU.
- This joint seminar invites renowned international experts to contribute to an informal series of lectures, meant to create interaction with the Oslo atmospheric and climate science community on recent highlights and analysis in the field.
- Normally seminars will be held on Thursdays (12:15 pm -1pm).