PCIC science brief: Projected changes in short-term climate variability induced by human activities
Date
2025-08
Authors
Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC)
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC)
Abstract
Internal climate variability occurs due to interactions between the parts of the Earth’s climate system and is an indelible feature of both observed and model-simulated climate . Anthropogenic climate change may alter the internal variability of the climate system which could, in turn, influence both the mean climate and extremes. Writing in the Journal of Climate, Coquereau and colleagues (2024) used global climate model simulations to examine how internal climate variability might change as the planet warms. In their article titled, “Anthropogenic Changes in Interannual-to-Decadal Climate Variability in CMIP6 Multiensemble Simulations,” the authors noted two regions in particular where changes in climate variability are manifested in future. The first is a decrease in temperature variability at higher latitudes, associated with the retreat of sea ice and the moderation of air temperature by the now exposed ocean surface. The second is an increase in the short-term variability of temperature and precipitation at low latitudes, which appears to reflect an increase in the frequency of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. This Science Brief discusses these findings and what they might mean for the future climate in British Columbia.
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Keywords
UN SDG 13: Climate Action, #science brief, #PCIC publication, Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC)