By FUMI YADA/ Staff Writer
December 10, 2024 at 14:20 JST
A house tilts due to heavy rainfall in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Sept. 22. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Global warming led in part to the torrential downpour on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture in September that killed 15 people, the Meteorological Research Institute and other organizations said Dec. 9.
Before noon on Sept. 21, an active autumn rain front caused linear rainbands to form over Ishikawa Prefecture, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The amount of rain that fell on Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, over a 24-hour period on that day was 412 millimeters, a record level that far exceeded the previous high.
A team from the Meteorological Research Institute and others analyzed the Wajima rainfall using the “event attribution” method, which examines the effects of global warming on meteorological phenomena.
The results showed that the cumulative rainfall from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sept. 21, when the precipitation was particularly heavy, was about 15 percent higher than the level that would have been seen with no effects of global warming.
The team believes the rise in air and sea surface temperatures increased the amount of rain.
“It is unlikely that the effects of global warming will decrease significantly from next year, and the amount of rainfall will continue to be higher than in the past,” Hiroaki Kawase, chief researcher at the Meteorological Research Institute, said.
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