Climate Change and the Rainbow

According to a recent study, the changes in cloud cover and liquid precipitation brought on by higher greenhouse gas emissions are expected to result in a net increase in the mean number of rainbow days worldwide each year.
By 2100, the average number of rainbow days is anticipated to increase globally by 4.0–4.9% per year.

What about Rainbows has the study revealed?

Locations with Fewer Rainbows

Rainbow days will disappear from about 21-34% of geographical regions.
By 2100, overall precipitation is expected to be lower in areas that would get fewer rainbow days, with the exception of those in Central Africa, Madagascar, and central South America.
All are anticipated to have fewer yearly cloudy days and more annual dry days.

Regions with More Rainbows

Under higher emission futures, rainbow days will increase by about 66-79%.
One of the nations where there will be an increase in rainbow days is India.
Additionally, it is expected that more rainbow days will occur in African nations including Mali, Niger, Chad, Sudan, and Ethiopia.
In regions where warming is expected to result in less snow and more rain, such as the Tibetan Plateau, rainbow gain hotspots are typically found at higher latitudes or extremely high elevations.
Eastern Borneo and northern Japan, two rainbow gain hotspots, may have more dry days annually despite an increase in overall precipitation.

How are the rainbow and climate change connected?

A typical visual phenomenon in the atmosphere is a rainbow. The consequence of water droplets reflecting sunlight is a multicolored arc in the sky.
A portion of the light that strikes a raindrop is reflected. Each wavelength of light that makes up the electromagnetic spectrum is reflected at a distinct angle. As a result, the spectrum is divided, creating a rainbow.
You can see rainbows near waterfalls, sea spray, or fog.
It is merely an optical illusion; it is not situated in any particular area of the sky.
The refraction and reflection of light produce rainbows.
A shift in a wave's direction is a factor in both the phenomena of refraction and reflection.
While a reflected wave may appear to "bounce back" from a surface or other wavefront, a refracted wave may appear to be "bent."
The basic rainbow's hues are always red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, in the order of their wavelengths from longest to shortest.

Linkage with Climate Change:

The warming of the climate caused by human activity like the combustion of fossil fuels alters rainfall patterns, amounts, and cloud cover.
Due to changes in moisture evaporation and convergence, climate change will vary the distribution of rainbow occurrence.
This modifies cloud cover and precipitation patterns.

Read Also: Supreme Court Verdict on EWS Quota

Source: Down To Earth

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