A new study led by Elfatih Eltahir, co-director of the Jameel Observatory, and published in the March issue of the Journal of Climate, predicts the long-term effects of climate change on specific destinations around the world, finding that some destinations will lose up to half of their amenable, 'outdoor' weather days. The research combines data from 50 climate models to chart the ways in which 'outdoor days' will be numbered in various destinations by 2100. The term refers to 24-hour windows in which temperatures are pleasant enough for most people to enjoy outdoor activities. “Changes in the number of outdoor days will impact directly how people around the world feel climate change,” said Elfatih Eltahir. Elfatih is the project lead of the Jameel Observatory Climate Resilience Early Warning System Network (JO-CREWSnet), a 2022 MIT Climate Grand Challenge project.
Excerpt
Spring is officially underway in North America and Europe, and crowds have rushed to dine out on terraces, bike along flowery meadows and boat in parks. It’s a window of pleasant weather that scientists predict will give way to another record-breaking scorcher of a summer.
If this window feels short-lived, there’s reason to believe it’s growing — at least in some parts of the world.
By the end of the century, residents of northern countries will generally see sunny, springlike balm appear earlier in the winter. Conversely, those in the south—including equatorial regions and extending into Southern Europe and the US—will for the most part enjoy fewer days of temperate weather year-round.
So concludes an innovative study out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, published in the Journal of Climate in March, that predicts the long-term effects of climate change on specific destinations around the world. The research combines data from 50 climate models to chart the ways in which “outdoor days” will be numbered in various destinations by 2100. The term refers to 24-hour windows in which temperatures are pleasant enough for most people to enjoy outdoor activities. (Winter sports don’t count.) The implications are enormous for quality of life, travel and tourism.