A new attribution study finds human-caused climate change made Europe’s July floods more likely. What about Tennessee’s flooding? An atmospheric scientist explains how scientists make the connection.
Academic research can shed light on crucial questions about what life on Earth will be like under the most plausible emissions scenarios. And a warning: the answers are confronting.
Not every extreme weather event is caused by climate change, but heat waves that were once ridiculously improbable are showing up more often. Just ask Portland.
Gavin D. Madakumbura, University of California, Los Angeles; Alex Hall, University of California, Los Angeles; Chad Thackeray, University of California, Los Angeles, dan Jesse Norris, University of California, Los Angeles
Scientists used artificial neural networks to analyze precipitation records. They found evidence of human activities influencing extreme rainfall or snowfall around the world.
As the planet continues to warm, extreme weather events such as heatwaves and heavy rainfall are becoming more frequent, intense and longer, according to global weather data.
Engineering practice assumes that floods are randomly distributed but science suggests they are not. This raises questions about the reliability of flood infrastructure and management strategies.
We already know that climate change makes heatwaves hotter and longer. But a new series of research papers asks whether there is also a climate fingerprint on frosty spells and bouts of wet weather.
The unpredictability of hurricanes makes it hard to say for sure whether climate change is making them worse. But we do know that sea-level rise and increased evaporation will worsen the impacts.
Green roofs could play a critical role in helping cities cope with extreme rainfall events in the age of climate change. The roofs essentially suck up stormwater like sponges if designed properly.
Analysis of flood gauge data suggest that floods are becoming less frequent in many parts of the world. Despite that, more people and property are at risk, particularly in developing countries.
Scott Power, Australian Bureau of Meteorology; Brad Murphy, Australian Bureau of Meteorology; Christine Chung, Australian Bureau of Meteorology; François Delage, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, dan Hua Ye, Australian Bureau of Meteorology
New research shows that global warming has already begun to exacerbate extremes of rainfall in the Pacific region – with more to come.
Was Malcolm Turnbull right to say that larger and more frequent storms are one of the predicted consequences of climate change – but that you can’t attribute any particular storm to global warming?
Since 1999, Australia has swung between drought and deluge with surprising speed, because El Niño has fallen into sync with similar patterns in the Indian and Southern Oceans.
Australia is the land of drought of flooding rains, driven by events such as El Nino. But despite this variability, some parts of Australia are clearly drying out.
Chief Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes; Chief Investigator, ARC Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future; Professor, Monash University