Climate Extremes and Compound Hazards in a Warming World

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 519-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir AghaKouchak ◽  
Felicia Chiang ◽  
Laurie S. Huning ◽  
Charlotte A. Love ◽  
Iman Mallakpour ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Events ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Climate Extremes ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Aging Infrastructure ◽  
Climate Hazards ◽  
Projected Changes ◽  
Warming World

Climate extremes threaten human health, economic stability, and the well-being of natural and built environments (e.g., 2003 European heat wave). As the world continues to warm, climate hazards are expected to increase in frequency and intensity. The impacts of extreme events will also be more severe due to the increased exposure (growing population and development) and vulnerability (aging infrastructure) of human settlements. Climate models attribute part of the projected increases in the intensity and frequency of natural disasters to anthropogenic emissions and changes in land use and land cover. Here, we review the impacts, historical and projected changes,and theoretical research gaps of key extreme events (heat waves, droughts, wildfires, precipitation, and flooding). We also highlight the need to improve our understanding of the dependence between individual and interrelated climate extremes because anthropogenic-induced warming increases the risk of not only individual climate extremes but also compound (co-occurring) and cascading hazards. ▪  Climate hazards are expected to increase in frequency and intensity in a warming world. ▪  Anthropogenic-induced warming increases the risk of compound and cascading hazards. ▪  We need to improve our understanding of causes and drivers of compound and cascading hazards.

scholarly journals Compound extremes in a changing climate – a Markov chain approach

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 375-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin Sedlmeier ◽  
Sebastian Mieruch ◽  
Gerd Schädler ◽  
Christoph Kottmeier
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Events ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Dynamic Change ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Heavy Precipitation ◽  
Northern Germany ◽  
Russian Region ◽  
Climate Simulations ◽  
Potential Impact

Abstract. Studies using climate models and observed trends indicate that extreme weather has changed and may continue to change in the future. The potential impact of extreme events such as heat waves or droughts depends not only on their number of occurrences but also on "how these extremes occur", i.e., the interplay and succession of the events. These quantities are quite unexplored, for past changes as well as for future changes and call for sophisticated methods of analysis. To address this issue, we use Markov chains for the analysis of the dynamics and succession of multivariate or compound extreme events. We apply the method to observational data (1951–2010) and an ensemble of regional climate simulations for central Europe (1971–2000, 2021–2050) for two types of compound extremes, heavy precipitation and cold in winter and hot and dry days in summer. We identify three regions in Europe, which turned out to be likely susceptible to a future change in the succession of heavy precipitation and cold in winter, including a region in southwestern France, northern Germany and in Russia around Moscow. A change in the succession of hot and dry days in summer can be expected for regions in Spain and Bulgaria. The susceptibility to a dynamic change of hot and dry extremes in the Russian region will probably decrease.

scholarly journals Loss of work productivity in a warming world: Differences between developed and developing countries

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuang Yu ◽  
Zhongwei Yan ◽  
Jiangjiang Xia ◽  
Alcide Zhao ◽  
Anzhi Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Productivity Loss ◽  
Work Productivity ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The World ◽  
Warming World

<p>Comparable estimates of the heat-related work productivity loss (WPL) in different countries over the world are difficult partly due to the lack of exact measures and comparable data for different counties. In this study, we analysed 4363 responses to a global online survey on the WPL during heat waves in 2016. The participants were from both developed and developing countries, facilitating estimates of the heat-related WPL across the world for the year. The heat-related WPL for each country involved was then deduced for increases of 1.5, 2, 3 and 4 °C in the global mean surface temperature under the representative concentration pathway scenarios in climate models. The average heat-related WPL in 2016 was 6.6 days for developing countries and 3.5 days for developed countries. The estimated heat-related WPL was negatively correlated with the gross domestic product per capita. When global surface temperatures increased by 1.5, 2, 3 and 4 °C, the corresponding WPL was 9 (19), 12 (31), 22 (61) and 33 (94) days for developed (developing) countries, quantifying how developing countries are more vulnerable to climate change from a particular point of view. Moreover, the heat-related WPL was unevenly distributed among developing countries. In a 2°C-warmer world, the heat-related WPL would be more than two months in Southeast Asia, the most influenced region. The results are considerable for developing strategy of adaptation especially for developing countries.</p>

Heat Waves, Climate Change, and Economic Output

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Miller ◽  
Kenn Chua ◽  
Jay Coggins ◽  
Hamid Mohtadi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Economic Output ◽  
Hot Days ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Empirical Approaches ◽  
Climate Damages

Abstract Climate change is likely to affect economies not only through warming, but also via an increase in prolonged extreme events like heat waves. However, the impacts of heat waves on economic output are not well captured by standard empirical approaches that ignore when hot days occur. Using a global dataset spanning 1979–2016, we show agricultural losses from past heat waves are up to an order of magnitude larger than suggested by standard approaches. Combining these estimates with a suite of climate models implies that by the end of the century, climate damages in agriculture may be 5–10 times larger than is predicted by a focus on mean temperature shifts alone. These findings have important implications for targeting and evaluating climate adaptation efforts.

Characterizing hydro-meteorological extremes from a societal perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Bogdanovich ◽  
Lars Guenther ◽  
Markus Reichstein ◽  
Georg Ruhrmann ◽  
René Orth
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Events ◽  
Goodness Of Fit ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Apparent Temperature ◽  
Temperature Threshold ◽  
Temperature Thresholds ◽  
The Impact

<p>Extreme hydro-meteorological events often affect the economy, social life, health, and well-being. One indicator for the impact of extreme events on society is the concurrently increased societal attention. Such increases can help to measure and understand the vulnerability of the society to extreme events, and to evaluate the relevance of an event, which is important for disaster research and risk management. In this study, we analyzed and characterized hydro-meteorological extreme events from a societal impact perspective. In particular, we investigated the impact of heat waves on societal attention in European countries with contrasting climate (Germany, Spain, and Sweden) using Google trends data during 2010–2019. Thus, we seek to answer two general research questions: (i) how and when do extreme events trigger societal attention, (ii) are there temperature thresholds at which societal attention increases? </p><p>To describe heat waves, we used maximum, minimum, average, and apparent temperature, aggregated to a weekly time scale. We analyzed the relationship between temperature and societal attention using piecewise regression to identify potential temperature-related thresholds in societal attention. The threshold is determined as the breaking point between two linear models fitted to data. We determined the corresponding goodness of fit by computing R<sup>2</sup> for each temperature variable. The variable with the highest R<sup>2</sup> is considered as the most influential one.</p><p>The overall relationship between temperature and Google attention to heat waves is significant in all countries and reveals clear temperature thresholds. The variable with the highest explanatory power is the weekly average of the daily maximum temperatures, which accounts for 71% of google attention in Germany, 51 % in Sweden, and 38 % in Spain. For Germany, similar results are found with media attention. In Sweden, with its colder climate, a lower temperature threshold is identified, indicating higher heat vulnerability. No significant impact of temperatures from the previous weeks is found. While further work is needed to improve the understanding of the attention-heat coupling, the demonstrated significant societal attention response to heat waves offers the opportunity to characterize heat waves from an impact perspective using the identified temperature variables, time scales, and thresholds.</p>

scholarly journals Impacts on agriculture

2013 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Leanne Webb
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Events ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Climate Extremes ◽  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
Agricultural Communities ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Weather And Climate ◽  
Challenging Environment ◽  
Mean Climate

p>Agricultural production in Victoria includes the dairy, lamb and mutton, grains and perennial and annual horticultural sectors, with Victorian farmers contributing a major proportion of the Australian production total in many of these sectors. All these industries are exposed in different ways to weather and climate extremes. With projected warming of approximately 0.8°C by 2030 and by 1.4–2.7°C by 2070 (emissions dependent), and most climate models indicating reduced rainfall for the Victorian region (median of model results projecting a reduction of 4% by 2030 and 6%–11% by 2070; emissions dependent), a range of sectorspecific impacts could result. Increases in extreme events, such as heatwaves (e.g. for Mildura, days >35°C could nearly double from 32 to 59 annually by 2070), bushfires and drought, as well as an increased chance of extreme rainfall are all anticipated. Increasing frequencies of extreme events have the potential to affect agricultural production more than changes to the mean climate. For example, the exceptional heatwave that occurred in south-eastern Australia during January and February 2009 resulted in unprecedented impacts, with significant heat-stress related crop losses reported at many sites. Flooding in 2011 was also very costly to Victorian farmers with many crops being lost in the floodwaters and reduced agricultural production costing an estimated Au$500–600 million. Responses to climate variability already practised by the farming sector will inform some adaptation options that will assist farmers to cope in an increasingly challenging environment. As well as taking advantage of their underlying resilience, initiatives aimed at increasing the adaptive capacity of farmers are being implemented at many levels in agricultural communities.

scholarly journals Northern Eurasian Heat Waves and Droughts

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 3169-3207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siegfried D. Schubert ◽  
Hailan Wang ◽  
Randal D. Koster ◽  
Max J. Suarez ◽  
Pavel Ya. Groisman
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Heat Wave ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Decadal Variability ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Precipitation Variability ◽  
Northern Eurasia ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
Warming World

Abstract This article reviews the understanding of the characteristics and causes of northern Eurasian summertime heat waves and droughts. Additional insights into the nature of temperature and precipitation variability in Eurasia on monthly to decadal time scales and into the causes and predictability of the most extreme events are gained from the latest generation of reanalyses and from supplemental simulations with the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System model, version 5 (GEOS-5). Key new results are 1) the identification of the important role of summertime stationary Rossby waves in the development of the leading patterns of monthly Eurasian surface temperature and precipitation variability (including the development of extreme events such as the 2010 Russian heat wave); 2) an assessment of the mean temperature and precipitation changes that have occurred over northern Eurasia in the last three decades and their connections to decadal variability and global trends in SST; and 3) the quantification (via a case study) of the predictability of the most extreme simulated heat wave/drought events, with some focus on the role of soil moisture in the development and maintenance of such events. A literature survey indicates a general consensus that the future holds an enhanced probability of heat waves across northern Eurasia, while there is less agreement regarding future drought, reflecting a greater uncertainty in soil moisture and precipitation projections. Substantial uncertainties remain in the understanding of heat waves and drought, including the nature of the interactions between the short-term atmospheric variability associated with such extremes and the longer-term variability and trends associated with soil moisture feedbacks, SST anomalies, and an overall warming world.

Forecasting climate extremes to aid decisions on multi-week timescales

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine de Burgh-Day ◽  
Debbie Hudson ◽  
Oscar Alves ◽  
Morwenna Griffiths ◽  
Andrew Marshall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Events ◽  
Extreme Event ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Climate Extremes ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
Extreme Heat ◽  
Financial Loss ◽  
Defensive Responses ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact

<p>Extreme events such as droughts, heat waves and floods can have significant and long lasting financial, infrastructural and environmental impacts. While probabilistic seasonal outlooks are commonplace, there are relatively few probabilistic outlooks available on multiweek timescales. Additionally, many services focus on the middle of the distribution of possible outcomes – e.g., forecasts of probability of above or below median, or probability of mean conditions exceeding some threshold. These do not encompass the types of extreme events that can be the most damaging, such as several consecutive days of extreme heat, unusually large numbers of cold days in a season, or an extended period where rainfall is in the lowest decile of historical years.</p><p>Advance warning of extreme events that impact particular industries enable managers to put in place response measures which can help to reduce their losses. This can involve:</p><ul><li>Active responses which aim to reduce the severity of the impact. For example, losses in dairy production due to extreme heat can be mitigated by adjusting grazing rotations such that cows are in shadier paddocks during these events</li> <li>Defensive responses which aim to account for any losses incurred due to an event. For example, the purchase of new farm equipment can be deferred if a forecast extreme event indicates a likely unavoidable financial loss in the near future</li> </ul><p>To meet this need, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology is developing a suite of forecast products communicating risk of extreme events using data from the Bureau’s new seasonal forecasting system ACCESS-S. Each prototype forecast product is trialed with external users through a webpage to assess usefulness and popularity.</p>

scholarly journals Extreme Weather and Climate Change: Population Health and Health System Implications

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristie L. Ebi ◽  
Jennifer Vanos ◽  
Jane W. Baldwin ◽  
Jesse E. Bell ◽  
David M. Hondula ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Health System ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Weather And Climate ◽  
Resilient Infrastructure

Extreme weather and climate events, such as heat waves, cyclones, and floods, are an expression of climate variability. These events and events influenced by climate change, such as wildfires, continue to cause significant human morbidity and mortality and adversely affect mental health and well-being. Although adverse health impacts from extreme events declined over the past few decades, climate change and more people moving into harm's way could alter this trend. Long-term changes to Earth's energy balance are increasing the frequency and intensity of many extreme events and the probability of compound events, with trends projected to accelerate under certain greenhouse gas emissions scenarios. While most of these events cannot be completely avoided, many of the health risks could be prevented through building climate-resilient health systems with improved risk reduction, preparation, response, and recovery. Conducting vulnerability and adaptation assessments and developing health system adaptation plans can identify priority actions to effectively reduce risks, such as disaster risk management and more resilient infrastructure. The risks are urgent, so action is needed now. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Public Health, Volume 42 is April 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

scholarly journals Climate extremes, land–climate feedbacks and land-use forcing at 1.5°C

2018 ◽  
Vol 376 (2119) ◽  
pp. 20160450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia I. Seneviratne ◽  
Richard Wartenburger ◽  
Benoit P. Guillod ◽  
Annette L. Hirsch ◽  
Martha M. Vogel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Climate Extremes ◽  
Climate Feedbacks ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Transient Simulations ◽  
Emissions Scenarios ◽  
Projected Changes ◽  
Warming World

This article investigates projected changes in temperature and water cycle extremes at 1.5°C of global warming, and highlights the role of land processes and land-use changes (LUCs) for these projections. We provide new comparisons of changes in climate at 1.5°C versus 2°C based on empirical sampling analyses of transient simulations versus simulations from the ‘Half a degree Additional warming, Prognosis and Projected Impacts’ (HAPPI) multi-model experiment. The two approaches yield similar overall results regarding changes in climate extremes on land, and reveal a substantial difference in the occurrence of regional extremes at 1.5°C versus 2°C. Land processes mediated through soil moisture feedbacks and land-use forcing play a major role for projected changes in extremes at 1.5°C in most mid-latitude regions, including densely populated areas in North America, Europe and Asia. This has important implications for low-emissions scenarios derived from integrated assessment models (IAMs), which include major LUCs in ambitious mitigation pathways (e.g. associated with increased bioenergy use), but are also shown to differ in the simulated LUC patterns. Biogeophysical effects from LUCs are not considered in the development of IAM scenarios, but play an important role for projected regional changes in climate extremes, and are thus of high relevance for sustainable development pathways.This article is part of the theme issue ‘The Paris Agreement: understanding the physical and social challenges for a warming world of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels'.

Analysis of heat wave features and urban heat island effect under climate change

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ye Tian ◽  
Klaus Fraedrich ◽  
Feng Ma
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Urban Heat Island ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Urban Heat Island Effect ◽  
Heat Island ◽  
Island Effect ◽  
Urban Heat

<p>Extreme events such as heat waves occurred in urban have a large influence on human life due to population density. For urban areas, the urban heat island effect could further exacerbate the heat stress of heat waves. Meanwhile, the global climate change over the last few decades has changed the pattern and spatial distribution of local-scale extreme events. Commonly used climate models could capture broad-scale spatial changes in climate phenomena, but representing extreme events on local scales requires data with finer resolution. Here we present a deep learning based downscaling method to capture the localized near surface temperature features from climate models in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6 (CMIP6) framework. The downscaling is based on super-resolution image processing methods which could build relationships between coarse and fine resolution. This downscaling framework will then be applied to future emission scenarios over the period 2030 to 2100. The influence of future climate change on the occurrence of heat waves in urban and its interaction with urban heat island effect for ten most densely populated cities in China are studied. The heat waves are defined based on air temperature and the urban heat island is measured by the urban-rural difference in 2m-height air temperature. Improvements in data resolution enhanced the utility for assessing the surface air temperature record. Comparisons of urban heat waves from multiple climate models suggest that near-surface temperature trends and heat island effects are greatly affected by global warming. High resolution climate data offer the potential for further assessment of worldwide urban warming influences.</p>

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