Compound impacts of extreme heat and drought will hit 90% of population, widen inequality, reduce CO2 sequestration
New research from the University of Oxford, Department of Geography highlights the compound impacts of extreme heat and drought.
* Warming is projected to intensify these hazards ten-fold globally under the highest emission pathway,
* the linked threats of heat and drought represent a significantly higher risk to society and ecosystems than when either threat is considered independently
* may have severe socio-economic and ecological impacts which could aggravate socio inequalities, as they are projected to have more severe impacts on poorer people and rural areas.
* limited water availability will hit the ability of ‘carbon sinks’ – natural biodiverse regions – to take in carbon emissions and emit oxygen.
Professor Slater says, ‘Understanding compounding hazards in a warming Earth is essential for the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG13 that aims to combat climate change and its impacts. By combining atmospheric dynamics and hydrology, we explore the role of water and energy budgets in causing these extremes.’
Australia has just had three years of La Nina with high rainfall and flooding. It is likely we may move into an El Nino period of higher temperatures and reduced rainfall. That will stress our landscapes and carbon sinks, agricultural productivity and human health.
In 2022 we saw the impact of reduced rainfall and extreme heat in China, reduced water storage impacting hydro power and flowing through to reduced production.
At the same time in Europe we saw a drought and extreme heat causing disruptions to river transport and agriculture.
See Oxford University News: Compound extreme heat and drought will hit 90% of world population – Oxford study
Jiabo Yin et al, Future socio-ecosystem productivity threatened by compound drought–heatwave events, Nature Sustainability (2023). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-022-01024-1