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What is the news?
According to a recent study, Water Vapour radiation over the Himalayas has been mainly responsible for the rise in temperature in the High Altitude Himalayas region.
Background
Precipitable Water Vapour (PWV) is one of the most rapidly varying components in the atmosphere and is mainly accumulated in the lower troposphere.
Due to the large variability in space and time, especially in the Himalayan region, it is difficult to accurately quantify the climatic impact of PWV.
Note: Precipitable water is the amount of water potentially available in the atmosphere for precipitation. It is usually measured in a vertical column that extends from the Earth’s surface to the upper edge of the troposphere.
What did this study find out about the climatic impact of PWV?
Precipitable water vapour(PWV) has a positive radiative effect at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) suggesting an increase in overall warming in the High Altitude Himalayas due to it.
Note: Positive radiative forcing means Earth receives more incoming energy from sunlight than it radiates to space. This net gain of energy will cause warming. Conversely, negative radiative forcing means that Earth loses more energy to space than it receives from the sun, which produces cooling.
Source: This post is based on the article “New study suggests increase in warming in high altitude Himalayas due to water vapour” published in PIB on 11th Feb 2022.
