Biologically important organismal activities occur at specific times of the day, and asymmetric changes on the effects of climate change between the daytime and night-time can have a significant impact on nature. A paper published in Global Change Biology found that between 1983-2017, the area that experienced nighttime warming above 0.25°C was more than twice that of the area that experienced daytime warming in regions that showed warming asymmetry. 

The full paper is available at:

Daniel T. C. Cox et al, Global variation in diurnal asymmetry in temperature, cloud cover, specific humidity and precipitation and its association with leaf area index, Global Change Biology (2020). DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15336

Contributor: IIYAMA Miyuki (Research Strategy Office)