Nights are warming faster than days

After unseasonable weather to start summer, things will soon be getting warmer. It may also be that our evenings get hotter than our days.

A study says climate change is disproportionately warming nights in over half of the world.

In 54% of the land surface on Earth, night-time warming is more common than daytime warming. Using records from 1983 to 2017, a team from the University of Exeter discovered that night-time temperatures are, on average, 0.25 degrees Celsius warmer than daytime measurements.

It is believed that clouds are the main factor behind the imbalance. During the day they shield the ground from the Sun’s heat helping maintain a cooler temperature whereas at night they retain the day’s warmth and contribute to the warming trend.

The phenomenon is leaving scientists concerned for nocturnal animal species which will be particularly affected as the trend continues to grow.

A side effect of the trend recorded in the report is a link with the climate becoming wetter. Something which will further impact plant and animal species into the future which will be forced to adapt to changing conditions on land.