Simulation of the Impact of Energy Consumption on Global Climate

The worldwide energy consumption in 2006 was close to 15.8 terawatts in populated regions. Although this energy consumption is only about 0.3% of the total energy transport to the extratropics by atmospheric and oceanic circulations, this anthropogenic heating could disrupt the normal atmospheric circulation pattern and produce a far-reaching effect on surface air temperature. This study identifies the plausible climate impacts of energy consumption by using a global climate model. Results show that the inclusion of energy use at 86 model grid points where it exceeds 0.4 W/m²can lead to remote surface temperature changes by as much as 1 K in mid- and high latitudes in winter and autumn over the most part of North America and Eurasia. These regions correspond well to areas with large differences in surface temperature trends between observations and global warming simulations forced by all natural and anthropogenic forcings. It is concluded that energy consumption is likely to be a missing forcing for the additional winter warming trends in observations.