KL Is Expected To Have Severe Droughts And Extreme Rainfall By 2050

Conducted by ETH Zurich's scientists, the study was published in a peer-reviewed science journal PLOS ONE on Wednesday, 10 July.

520 major cities were included in the study.

Using existing data of the the cities, the study evaluates the "global shifts in the climate conditions of cities by taking current climate data" and projects "what they will most closely resemble in 2050".

These 'novel' cities will develop climate conditions that are unlike any other in current times.

"It means that there is no current match for the wide climate variations in temperatures, seasonality, and precipitation the city will experience," said ETH Zurich researcher Tom Crowther, reported National Geographic.

Four Malaysian cities were included in the study, namely Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Klang, and Johor Bahru.

The maximum temperature of the warmest month will see an increase between 2°C to 2.8°C, while the mean annual temperatures will see a change between 1.5°C to 2.3°C.

The study notes that although these cities will "experience smaller changes in average temperature", it will instead be dominated by shifts in rainfall regimes.

"This is characterised by both increases in extreme precipitation events (+5% rainfall wettest month) and, the severity and intensity of droughts (-14% rainfall driest month). With more severe droughts, tropical cities will move towards the subtropics, i.e. towards drier climates," the study said.

"However, the fate of major tropical cities remains highly uncertain because many tropical regions will experience unprecedented climate conditions."

"These city analogues, and the data we openly share, can help land managers and city planners to visualise the climate futures of their respective cities, facilitating efforts to establish targeted climate response strategies," the researchers wrote.

See a visualisation of the results here.