Review of recent advances in climate change detection and attribution studies: a large-scale hydroclimatological perspective

Abstract

The rapid changes in global average surface temperature have unfathomed influences on human society, environment, ecosystem, availability of food and fresh water. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and human-induced effects are playing an enhanced role in climate change. It is of utmost importance to ascertain the hydroclimatological changes in order to ascertain the characteristics of detection and attribution (D&A) of human-induced anthropogenic influences on recent warming. Climate change D&A are interrelated. Their study enhances our understanding about the rudimentary causes leading to climate changes and hence, considered as a decisive element in all Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Reports. An extensive discussion of the concerned scientific literature on climate change D&A is indispensably needed for the scientific community to assess climate change threats in clear terms. This study has reviewed various processes and advances in climate change D&A analyses at global/regional scales during the past few decades. Regression-based optimal fingerprint approach is majorly employed in climate change D&A studies. The accumulation of inferences presented in this study from numerous studies could be extremely helpful for the scientific community and policymakers as they deal with climate change adaptation and mitigation challenges.