Study Finds Climate Change Will Lead To More Frequent Wet-Hot Extreme Weather Events

Scientists have warned that the frequency, severity, and extent of simultaneous rainfall and heat extremes will increase significantly due to climate change. This phenomenon, known as wet-hot extremes, is expected to become more common than dry-hot conditions. According to their study published in the journal Earth's Future, for every 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature, the air's moisture-holding capacity increases by 6 to 7 percent. Consequently, the hot and humid air can supply more moisture for precipitation, making wet-hot extremes more probable.

Under wet-hot conditions, heatwaves initially lead to soil drying out, reducing its ability to absorb water. Subsequent rainfall struggles to penetrate the soil, resulting in surface runoff, which contributes to floods, landslides, and crop damage. These wet-hot extremes are predicted to cover larger areas and be more severe compared to dry-hot extremes.

Climate models, when considering current emissions scenarios, indicate that while some regions like South Africa, the Amazon, and parts of Europe are expected to become drier, many areas including the eastern United States, eastern and southern Asia, Australia, and central Africa will experience increased precipitation.

These "compound climate extremes" are likely to impact heavily populated regions that are already susceptible to geological hazards like landslides and mudflows, and are significant contributors to global crop production.

"These compound climate extremes have attracted considerable attention in recent decades due to their disproportionate pressures on the agricultural, industrial and ecosystems sectors - much more than individual extreme events alone," said Haijiang Wu, lead researcher, at Northwest A&F University, China, as reported by NDTV.

The European floods of 2021 serve as a prominent illustration of the world already grappling with wet-hot extremes. During that summer, unprecedented high temperatures led to the desiccation of the soil. Shortly thereafter, a deluge of heavy rainfall occurred over the parched ground, resulting in extensive landslides and sudden flash floods that swept away homes and tragically claimed lives.

Given the increasing occurrence of such wet-hot conditions, it is imperative that climate adaptation strategies take them into consideration.