Weather and Climate Extremes in a Changing Climate. Regions of ...

The U.S. Climate Change Science Program Chapter 1
Vulnerability to
extreme events
can be exacerbated
by other stresses
such as social
inequalities, disease,
and conflict.
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ral systems have been observed. The vulnerability
of these systems is a function not only of the
rate and magnitude of climate change but also of
the sensitivity of the system, the extent to which
it is exposed, and its adaptive capacity. Vulnerability
can be exacerbated by other stresses
such as social inequalities, disease, and conflict,
and can be compounded by changes in other
extremes events (e.g., drought and heat occurring
together) and by rapidly-recurring events.
Despite the widespread evidence that humans
have been impacted by extreme events in the
past, projecting future risk to changing climate
extremes is difficult. Extreme phenomena are
often more difficult to project than changes in
mean climate. In addition, systems are adapting
and changing their vulnerability to risk
in different ways. The ability to adapt differs
among systems and changes through time.
Decisions to adapt to or mitigate the effect
of changing extremes will be based not only
on our understanding of climate processes
but also on our understanding of the vulnerability
of socioeconomic and natural systems.