Soil conditions significantly increase rainfall in world's megastorm hotspots

Storm forecasting is traditionally based on studying atmospheric conditions but ground-breaking research that also looks at land surface conditions is set to transform early warning systems in tropical regions. This will enable communities to better adapt to the destructive impacts of climate change. The new study has shown that a large contrast in soil moisture levels over a range of hundreds of kilometers results in atmospheric changes that increase rainfall area and amount in several megastorm hotspots globally. This increase ranges from 10 to 30% depending on the region and size of the storm.