Do scientists expect the number and severity of extreme weather events to increase in a warming world? Which parts of the world are most vulnerable to a future of weather catastrophes? This resource considers all those questions and more as it explains the relationship between climate change and the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events such as hurricanes, floods, droughts, and wildfires.
Opening chapters explain climate change trends throughout history, providing readers with a foundational understanding of our current environmental moment. This coverage is supplemented with extended discussion of the political and cultural factors shaping policy responses to the issue, both historically and in the present day. In addition, Extreme Weather and Climate Change offers an extensive array of personal and scholarly essays and illuminating primary documents that discuss the issue from a range of scientific, political, and cultural standpoints.
Preface
1. Background and History
What Is Extreme Weather, and How Is It Connected to Climate Change?
Paleoclimatology: Looking at the Past to Determine Extremes
The Greenhouse Effect and the Earth’s Energy Budget
-Global Warming as the Cause of Extreme Weather Events
-Fossil Fuels: A Nifty Way to Re-use the Sun’s Energy
-Greenhouse Gases: Global Warming Potential and Atmospheric Abundance
-Increasing Ocean Heat and Its Role in Extreme Weather Promotion
Attribution Studies: Modeling the Present to Pinpoint the Cause of Extreme Weather Events
Extreme Weather Resulting from Anthropogenic Climate Change
-Fueled Beasts: Tropical Cyclones
-Extreme Rainfall
-Atmospheric Rivers
-Extreme Drought
-Increased Wildfires
-Extreme Heatwaves
-Extreme Cold Spells
Regions Susceptible to Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events
Further Reading
2. Problems, Controversies, and Solutions
Problems
-Blurring the Truth by Creating Doubt
-Philosophical and Cultural Challenges
-Psychological Impacts of Extreme Weather
-International Efforts at Lowering Emissions Are Slow at Best
Controversies
-The Poorest Nations with the Least Emissions Are Most Vulnerable
-Class and Vulnerability
-Assessing Loss and Damage
-Nationally Determined Contributions
-Mining for a New Industrial Revolution
Solutions
-Reducing Greenhouse Gases in the Atmosphere
-Enhancing Carbon Sinks
-Social Science Solutions
-Climate Engineering
Further Reading
3. Perspectives
Canadian Wildfires and Climate Change: Canada Is Burning!
Tricia Clarkson
Communication Is a Climate Solution: Connecting the Dots between Climate Change, Extreme Weather, and Priority Impacts
Karen Florini
Extreme Weather and Climate in the Late Little Ice Age
Cary J. Mock
Florida Coastal Resilience
Carrie Shuman
A Climate Scientist’s Perspective on Hurricanes, Climate Change, and Extreme Event Attribution
Thomas Knutson
Human Decisions Altering Wildfire Courses
Sarah Sayedi
Climate Change in China
Xinying Chang
Extreme Weather in Arusha, Tanzania
Thomas Meng'oru Lai
4. Profiles
Individuals
-Richard Alley (1957- )
-Harold E. Brooks (1959- )
-Kerry Emanuel (1955- )
-António Guterres (1949- )
-James Hansen (1941- )
-Stephanie Herring
-Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim (1984-)
-Charles Keeling (1928-2005)
-Thomas Knutson
-Joanne Simpson (1923-2010)
-Peter Stott
-Kevin Trenberth (1944- )
Organizations
-Berkeley Earth
-Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
-Climate Central
-Climate Transparency
-Columbia Climate School
-Global Change Research Program
-Iberdrola
-Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
-Loss and Damage Collaboration
-Met Office Hadley Center
-NASA’s Global Climate Change, Vital Signs of the Planet
-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association
-United Nations Environment Program
-World Meteorological Organization
-World Weather Attribution
-Yale Program for Climate Change Communications
Further Reading
5. Data and Documents
Data
-Global Land-Ocean Temperature Index
-Estimates of the Earth’s Annual and Global Mean Energy Balance
-Extreme Weather Events in the United States, 1980-2024
Documents
-NOAA Atlantic Hurricanes and Climate Change Summary (2023)
-“The Science of Extreme Event Attribution: How Climate Change Is Fueled by Severe Weather Events,” US Senate Committee Meeting on the Environment and Public Works (2023)
6. Resources
Science of Climate Change and Extreme Weather
Societal, Political, and Regional Impacts of Extreme Weather
Websites and Interactive Tools
Documentaries and Media
Podcasts
7. Chronology
Glossary
Index
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