Extreme climate events such as floods, droughts, extreme temperatures, heavy snowfall, and rainstorms have significant impacts on the environment and society. Under global warming, extreme climate events are expected to increase. In recent decades, major heatwaves have resulted in hundreds of deaths across Europe, North America, Asia, South America, the Middle East, and Africa, with many accompanied by severe drought conditions, and in recent years, wildfires. Extreme rainfall has also caused vast amounts of flooding over recent years, for example, in July 2021, extremely heavy rainfall hit central China’s Henan Province, causing more than 10 million affected. Given the changes to Earth’s climate projected for the future, it is essential to understand the variability of extreme climate events.
The mechanisms of extreme events are complex. The tropical air-sea interaction, particularly ENSO, may induce flooding and/or droughts in Asia, North America, and Australia during summertime. Rapid changes in the Arctic climate including sea ice loss may induce cold surges and intense snowfall events in the mid-latitudes during the winter. However, the relationship between tropical air-sea interactions, polar climatic changes, and the occurrence of extreme climate events is poorly understood. Greater insight into the associated dynamic processes is essential to gain a better understanding of the physical mechanisms of extreme climate events, and how changes in global sea surface temperatures, Arctic sea ice, snow cover, and air-surface interactions may have a role to play.
Moreover, prediction and projection of the future change of extreme events based on numerical simulations are vital for decision-makers and stakeholders to devise appropriate and informed plans regarding climate change adaptation and climate disaster warning systems.
In this special issue, we are seeking review and research papers exploring variability, mechanisms, and numerical simulation of extreme climate events. In particular, we invite papers exploring but are not limited to, the following themes:
• Interannual-interdecadal variability and long-term trend in the climate extremes
• Influences of air-sea interaction, air-ice interaction, and land-air interaction on extreme climate events
• Time-varying contributions of climate systems over tropics and mid-to-high latitudes to the occurrence of extreme climate events
• Historical and future changes of extreme climate events based on numerical simulations and statistical downscaling
• Near-term prediction of extreme climate events based on numerical simulations, statistical-dynamical prediction models, and machine learning approaches
Extreme climate events such as floods, droughts, extreme temperatures, heavy snowfall, and rainstorms have significant impacts on the environment and society. Under global warming, extreme climate events are expected to increase. In recent decades, major heatwaves have resulted in hundreds of deaths across Europe, North America, Asia, South America, the Middle East, and Africa, with many accompanied by severe drought conditions, and in recent years, wildfires. Extreme rainfall has also caused vast amounts of flooding over recent years, for example, in July 2021, extremely heavy rainfall hit central China’s Henan Province, causing more than 10 million affected. Given the changes to Earth’s climate projected for the future, it is essential to understand the variability of extreme climate events.
The mechanisms of extreme events are complex. The tropical air-sea interaction, particularly ENSO, may induce flooding and/or droughts in Asia, North America, and Australia during summertime. Rapid changes in the Arctic climate including sea ice loss may induce cold surges and intense snowfall events in the mid-latitudes during the winter. However, the relationship between tropical air-sea interactions, polar climatic changes, and the occurrence of extreme climate events is poorly understood. Greater insight into the associated dynamic processes is essential to gain a better understanding of the physical mechanisms of extreme climate events, and how changes in global sea surface temperatures, Arctic sea ice, snow cover, and air-surface interactions may have a role to play.
Moreover, prediction and projection of the future change of extreme events based on numerical simulations are vital for decision-makers and stakeholders to devise appropriate and informed plans regarding climate change adaptation and climate disaster warning systems.
In this special issue, we are seeking review and research papers exploring variability, mechanisms, and numerical simulation of extreme climate events. In particular, we invite papers exploring but are not limited to, the following themes:
• Interannual-interdecadal variability and long-term trend in the climate extremes
• Influences of air-sea interaction, air-ice interaction, and land-air interaction on extreme climate events
• Time-varying contributions of climate systems over tropics and mid-to-high latitudes to the occurrence of extreme climate events
• Historical and future changes of extreme climate events based on numerical simulations and statistical downscaling
• Near-term prediction of extreme climate events based on numerical simulations, statistical-dynamical prediction models, and machine learning approaches
