‘Get ready for more violent storms and heatwaves’
A review of the science on the links between climate and extreme events and disasters, conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), revealed impacts were already being felt as a result of rising temperatures.
A rise in the number of hot days had been seen globally, and in areas including North America, Europe and Australia, while some parts of the world had seen heavy rainfall increase, the report said.
The scientists said there was “medium confidence” that in some regions droughts had become longer and more intense, particularly in southern Europe and west Africa, but central North America and northern Australia had seen fewer or shorter dry spells.
By the end of this century the frequency of heatwaves is set to soar if there are high levels of greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades, while heavy rain is set to occur more often, the scientists said.
And the wind speed of tropical cyclones is set to increase, though they are not expected to become more frequent.
Thomas Stocker, one of the scientists leading the review, said: “For the high emissions scenario, it is likely that the frequency of hot days will increase by a factor of 10 in most regions of the world.
“Likewise, heavy precipitation will occur more often, and the wind speed of tropical cyclones will increase while their number will likely remain constant or decrease.”
Other extreme events likely to become more common include glacial lakes bursting and coastal erosion and flooding.
The report, which looked at how to manage the risks of extreme climate events, said coastal communities, those in major delta areas, small islands and mountain settlements, were vulnerable to the impacts of rising temperatures.
Developed countries were better able to cope with extreme events than poor countries, and most deaths from natural disasters occurred in developing nations, but all countries faced challenges in dealing with extremes.
The emergence of ‘megacities’, meant there were now highly vulnerable urban communities.
