June 9, 2006

Growth of Tropics May Increase Droughts, Researchers Say

By RICHARD MONASTERSKY

Over the past 27 years, the tropics have expanded their reach, according to scientists who have analyzed temperatures recorded by satellites.

Qiang Fu, an associate professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington, and his colleagues reported in the May 26 issue of the journal Science that the temperature of the lowermost atmosphere has warmed more at 30 degrees latitude north and south of the Equator than it has at the Equator. That warming has pushed the westerly jet

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