Meteorological Disasters and Meteorological Disaster Chains (MDs & MDCs) combined is one of the most common, frequent, and severe types of natural disasters. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)’s recent ‘Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes (1970–2019)’, globally over the last 50 years, 50% of all recorded disasters, 45% of related deaths and 74% of related economic losses were due to weather, climate, and water hazards. Some of the significant meteorological disasters during the past two years (2020 and 2021) include: (a) extensive flooding over large parts of Africa in 2020, with the worst affected areas being Sudan and Kenya; (b) severe drought affecting many parts of the interior of South America in 2020, with the worst-affected areas being northern Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and the western border areas of Brazil; (c) significant snowstorm in 2020 in Newfoundland, North America; (d) extreme rainfall hitting the Henan province in central China in 2021, with the most severely affected area being around the city of Zhengzhou; and (e) the hurricane Ida in Louisiana, United States in 2021, with major wind damage and storm surge inundation. All these hazards have caused very severe MDs & MDCs.
The formation and evolution mechanisms of MDs & MDCs are very complicated, and are influenced by several factors, such as extremity of the meteorological hazard, vulnerability of the hazard-bearing body, environmental possibility with hazard, and others. In the recent years, MDs & MDCs have been receiving increasing attention from researchers and policy makers alike. However, there is a limited number of studies attempting to holistically capture the varieties of factors and contexts behind the MDs & MDCs. There is, therefore, a need for a global perspective on MDs & MDCs.
This Research Topic aims to bring together the latest research progress and policy advancements on reducing the risks and impacts of MDs & MDCs. We invite Original Research, Methods, Perspectives, and Review Articles that may help to improve our knowledge and understanding on MDs & MDCs.
Potential contributions include, but are not limited to:
• Characteristics and analyses of meteorological hazards and related disasters
• Vulnerability assessment of MDs & MDCs
• Formation and evolution mechanism of MDs & MDCs
• Theoretical and empirical models for MDs & MDCs
• Modeling and simulation of MDs & MDCs
• Risk assessment of MDs & MDCs
• Prevention and mitigation measures of MDs & MDCs
• Impacts of climate change on MDs & MDCs
Meteorological Disasters and Meteorological Disaster Chains (MDs & MDCs) combined is one of the most common, frequent, and severe types of natural disasters. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)’s recent ‘Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes (1970–2019)’, globally over the last 50 years, 50% of all recorded disasters, 45% of related deaths and 74% of related economic losses were due to weather, climate, and water hazards. Some of the significant meteorological disasters during the past two years (2020 and 2021) include: (a) extensive flooding over large parts of Africa in 2020, with the worst affected areas being Sudan and Kenya; (b) severe drought affecting many parts of the interior of South America in 2020, with the worst-affected areas being northern Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and the western border areas of Brazil; (c) significant snowstorm in 2020 in Newfoundland, North America; (d) extreme rainfall hitting the Henan province in central China in 2021, with the most severely affected area being around the city of Zhengzhou; and (e) the hurricane Ida in Louisiana, United States in 2021, with major wind damage and storm surge inundation. All these hazards have caused very severe MDs & MDCs.
The formation and evolution mechanisms of MDs & MDCs are very complicated, and are influenced by several factors, such as extremity of the meteorological hazard, vulnerability of the hazard-bearing body, environmental possibility with hazard, and others. In the recent years, MDs & MDCs have been receiving increasing attention from researchers and policy makers alike. However, there is a limited number of studies attempting to holistically capture the varieties of factors and contexts behind the MDs & MDCs. There is, therefore, a need for a global perspective on MDs & MDCs.
This Research Topic aims to bring together the latest research progress and policy advancements on reducing the risks and impacts of MDs & MDCs. We invite Original Research, Methods, Perspectives, and Review Articles that may help to improve our knowledge and understanding on MDs & MDCs.
Potential contributions include, but are not limited to:
• Characteristics and analyses of meteorological hazards and related disasters
• Vulnerability assessment of MDs & MDCs
• Formation and evolution mechanism of MDs & MDCs
• Theoretical and empirical models for MDs & MDCs
• Modeling and simulation of MDs & MDCs
• Risk assessment of MDs & MDCs
• Prevention and mitigation measures of MDs & MDCs
• Impacts of climate change on MDs & MDCs
