Extreme Weather: An Introduction to This Year’s Global Topic

Turn on the news or open your phone to check social media and you are likely to see a story about extreme weather events. They are in the headlines more than ever. This isn’t simply due to more coverage by news teams: weather events like wildfires, hurricanes, extreme heat, droughts, and flooding from severe storms are happening more frequently and with greater intensity than in the past. In fact, a strong El Niño event is predicted this year.

Extreme weather events are a consequence of climate change. Consider this simplified string of cause and effect: Every year, more fossil fuels are burned, and carbon sinks are cleared to meet the demands of humans. This leads to more greenhouse gas emissions. Rising greenhouse gas levels are a main driver of climate change. Climate change includes rising global temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, and sea level rise – all things that lead to extreme weather.

Extreme weather events – which include drought, hurricanes, wildfire, flooding, extreme heat, extreme cold, etc. – are not new. But as the global population grows and climate change continues, extreme weather events happen more frequently and/or are more severe.

The world is expected to experience nearly two more months of extreme temperatures by the end of the century. Increased temperatures and drier conditions make areas more flammable, causing more intense and frequent wildfires. The IPCC reported that rising temperatures will likely raise the strength of hurricanes: a greater proportion will reach potentially catastrophic Categories 4 and 5. Higher temperatures impact the water cycle too, creating conditions for more extreme droughts and flooding worldwide. Check out this map from the World Wildlife Fund to see which areas face the greatest risks from different types of extreme weather.

Extreme weather can impact wildlife ecosystems and cause habitat loss. It can affect people’s livelihoods, health, homes, and access to food: flooding can cause landslides and disease outbreaks; hurricanes can cause infrastructure damage.

Extreme weather is being addressed in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Goals 9 and 11 focus on building resilient infrastructure and cities to help mitigate the damage from additional severe weather events. Goal 13 focuses on mitigating the global temperature increase by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, in turn decreasing the number of severe weather events.

Imagine one of these extreme weather events and how you might mitigate its impact or stop it from happening in the first place. How will you ensure people’s safety and minimize environmental damage?

It’s your turn to be part of the solution. Read the full Extreme Weather Topic Backgrounder to get started!