Extreme Weather and Climate Change

Mariangelica Groves is an assistant professor of geography at Weber State University, USA. Her research interests include paleoecology, paleoclimate, and fire in the American West.

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