Projected changes in precipitation intensity and frequency in Switzerland: a multi‐model perspective

Abstract

Fundamental changes in the hydrological cycle are to be expected in a future warmer climate. For Switzerland, recent climate change assessments based on the ENSEMBLES regional climate models project for the A1B emission scenario summer mean precipitation to significantly decrease by the end of this century, whereas winter mean precipitation tend to rise in Southern Switzerland. From an end‐user perspective, projected changes in seasonal means are often insufficient to adequately address the multifaceted challenges of climate change adaptation. In this study, we investigate the projected changes in seasonal precipitation by considering changes in frequency and intensity, precipitation type (convective vs stratiform) and temporal structure (wet and dry spells) over Switzerland. As proxies for rain‐type changes, we rely on the parameterized convective and large‐scale precipitation components simulated by the models. The study reveals that the projected summer drying over Switzerland at the end of the century is mainly driven by a widespread reduction in the number of precipitation days. Thereby, the drying evolves altitude‐specific: over low‐land regions it is associated with a decrease in both convective and large‐scale precipitation. Over elevated regions it is primarily associated with a decline in large‐scale precipitation only, whereas convective precipitation remains at current levels. As a consequence, almost all the models project an increase in convective fraction at elevated altitudes. The decrease in the number of wet days during summer is accompanied by decreases (increases) in the number of multi‐day wet (dry) spells. This future shift in multi‐day episodes also lowers down the likelihood of short dry spell occurrence in all of the models. The models further project a higher mean precipitation intensity in spring and autumn north of the Alps, whereas a similar tendency is expected for the winter season over most of Switzerland.

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