Iranian Journal of Geophysics

Iranian Journal of Geophysics

The impacts of climate change on the essential climate variables (ECVs) in Iran

Document Type : Research Article

Authors
Elham Kadkhoda 1
Kamal Omidvar 2
Azar Zarrin 3
Ahmad Mazidi 4
Abbasali Dadashi-Roudbari 5
1 PhD student, Department of Geography, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran
2 Professor, Department of Geography, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran
3 Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
4 Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran
5 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
10.30499/ijg.2023.405016.1526
Abstract
It is challenging to estimate how the climate of a region will change under global warming in the future. Among the essential climate variables, temperature, relative humidity and wind speed are very important, and their changes in relation to each other can have many consequences, such as increasing heat stress and evapotranspiration.
    In this research, we investigated future temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity in Iran. Five models, namely GFDL-ESM4, IPSL-CM6A-LR, MPI-ESM1-2-HR, MRI-ESM2-0, and UKESM1-0-LL from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) have been evaluated versus observations for 1990-2014. A multi-model ensemble was generated with the Integrated Weighted Mean (IWM) method from selected CMIP6 models, and the performances of individual CMIP6 and CMIP6-MME models in estimating temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity were investigated. The results showed that all five selected models are capable to reproduce the variables; however, the CMIP6-MME significantly improved the results. The CMIP6-MME showed good agreement with observational data both in terms of climatology and spatial distribution of each variable, and its performance is higher compared to individual models.
   We have used two Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), namely SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5, and three-time periods, namely near-term (2026-2050), midterm (2051-2075), and long-term (2076-2100) relative to the historical period (1990-2014).
The results of this study showed that Iran will undergo changes in temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity spatial distribution in the future. The decrease in relative humidity and dryness of the air in the future can have important consequences for agriculture, food security, and water resources management. The findings of this study, in agreement with previous studies, emphasize the significant increase in temperature throughout Iran. Under the SSP2-4.5 (SSP5-8.5) scenario, the average annual temperature of the country increases by 1.40 (1.83), 2.34 (3.58), and 2.99 (5.58) degrees Celsius in the near (2026-2050), middle (2051-2075), and far (2076-2100) future, respectively.
    Along with the increasing trend of temperature in Iran, wind speed will decrease in most regions of the country in the middle and end of the 21st century under two SSP scenarios. This decreasing trend can be a result of decreasing atmospheric instability and increasing potential temperature. The northwest of Iran has shown the maximum increasing temperature and the maximum decreasing wind speed. The decrease in relative humidity in Iran has been evident since the 1990s, and the projection results indicate that it will decrease in large parts of Iran in the future. However, the relative humidity in the southeast of Iran shows an increasing rate in the future. Results of this study show that the heat stress will be significantly higher through SSP5-8.5 than SSP2-4.5 in the 21st century due to the decrease in wind speed and increase in temperature throughout Iran. Therefore, Iran should quickly move on to formulate and implement long-term adaptation plans for resilience against climate change.
 
Keywords
Climate change
temperature
wind speed
relative humidity
CMIP6-MME
Iran
Subjects
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Iranian Journal of Geophysics
Volume 18, Issue 2
July and August 2024
Pages 1-17

  • Receive Date 02 July 2023
  • Revise Date 11 September 2023
  • Accept Date 12 October 2023
  • First Publish Date 12 October 2023
  • Publish Date 21 June 2024