Climate change is sparking bizarre 'temperature flips' around the world - with countries experiencing rapid changes from hot to cold
Scientists have warned that climate change is sparking bizarre 'temperature flips' all around the world.
Defined as 'sudden shifts from extremely warm to cold or vice versa', these intense events can be particularly dangerous for humans and the environment.
A new study found that human-caused climate change has made temperature flips more frequent, intense, and faster for over 60 per cent of global regions since 1961.
The researchers warn that the number of people at risk could increase by over 100 per cent by the end of the century if greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase.
While the dangers of heatwaves and cold snaps are well known, the transition between these events is less well understood.
But with little time to adapt to the new extreme, researchers warn that temperature flips can 'increase the risk of severe and even irreversible impacts on human health'.
Low-income nations will be the worst affected, with increases in exposure to temperature flips four to six times greater than the global average.
In their paper, published in Nature Communications, the researchers write: 'Climate change leads to more frequent and more severe temperature flips, such as warm winter days followed by sudden cold snaps.'
Scientists have warned that climate change is fuelling a rise in 'temperature flips' in which a region rapidly shifts from extreme hot to extreme cold or vice versa
In September 2020 a temperature flip hit the Rocky Mountains as a snowstorm caused temperatures to plunge by more than 20°C (36°F). Pictured: A bison in Evergreen, Colorado during the temperature flip
The sudden change in weather caused widespread damage to infrastructure and caused power outages in Denver. Scientists now warn that events like this will become more common
Due to the sudden changes involved in a temperature flip, even relatively mild temperatures can lead to severe problems.
For example, in March 2012, parts of North America were struck by a flip event in which temperature rose from -10°C (14°F) to above 5°C (41°F).
This change caused a 'false spring' which triggered crops to bloom early, only to be destroyed by another cold spell.
Likewise, in September 2020 the Rocky Mountains faced a sudden transition from a severe heatwave to heavy snowfall.
Temperature drops of around 20°C (36°F) in a single day triggered widespread power outages, property damage, and disruption to daily life.
Temperature flips themselves are not a new phenomenon, nor are they directly caused by the warming climate.
However, the researchers found that the frequency and intensity of climate flips have been increasing as climate change continues to warm the planet.
This is because human-caused climate change makes the conditions required for a temperature flip more common.
Researchers have found that some regions experience multiple dramatic temperature flips in a single year. This graph shows a sample of historical temperature data collected by the researchers for a year of extreme temperature variations
By 2100, if greenhouse emissions are not reduced the amount of people exposed to temperature flips will increase 100 per cent. As this graph shows, that impact will mainly be felt by people in low-income countries
On the large scale, disturbances to the global climate have made the jet stream 'wavier' which intensifies temperature variability, particularly over North America.
On the small scale, climate change has altered the balance of humidity, cloud cover, and evaporation which help regulate local temperature differences.
For example, the researchers write: 'Climate warming is expected to exacerbate soil moisture deficit in some areas, which can intensify temperature variability via increasing the effects of surface heat fluxes.'
Since the 1960s, when greenhouse gas emissions accelerated, global temperature data shows that temperature flips have become more common and more intense.
In the last 60 years, the time taken for an area to flip from hot to cold or vice versa has become faster for over 78 per cent of global regions included in the analysis.
By looking at this historical data and the well-documented evidence of climate flips in the past, the researchers have built a mathematical model to predict how much they might increase in the future.
In the 'high emission' scenario in which greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, the number of people affected will increase by over 100 per cent.
Between 2071 and 2100, climate flips are predicted to become eight per cent more common, seven per cent more intense, and three per cent faster.
In the future temperature flips will become more common and more severe. This is seriously dangerous for humans since the rapid changes involved don't give people enough time to adapt
This comes as scientists warn that cities like Jakarta (pictured) are facing 'climate whiplash' as they fluctuate between back-to-back floods and droughts
Cities like Dallas, USA have experienced intense flips between temperature extremes. During 2011, the city experienced prolonged heatwaves of 40 consecutive days with high temperatures exceeding 38°C (100°F)
However, the researchers say that the impact of temperature flips can be limited if humanity reduces its greenhouse emissions.
The researchers write: 'Our research underscores the urgent need for constraining emissions to alleviate the intensification of these rapid temperature flips and thus to mitigate their resultant impacts.'
This comes after researchers from the charity Water Aid found that some of the world's most populated cities have been hit with a bizarre phenomenon dubbed 'climate whiplash'.
These areas experienced years of back-to-back floods and droughts, making it much harder for them to predict, and prepare for the next climate disaster.
According to the report, the cities experiencing the most severe climate whiplash are Hangzhou in China, Jakarta in Indonesia, and Dallas in the USA.
Elsewhere, a number of cities have experienced violent shifts towards either a wetter or drier climate in a process called a 'climate flip'.
Overall, 20 per cent of the world's largest cities have experienced a climate flip, with 13 per cent switching to a more extreme wet climate and seven per cent jumping to a dry extreme.
Collectively, cities experiencing a climate flip are home to 250 million people.
Woke scientists claim you should only eat two chicken breasts a WEEK to save the planet 
