Open AccessContrasting biophysical and societal impacts of hydro-meteorological extremes
Author(s) -
René Orth,
O Sungmin,
Jakob Zscheischler,
Miguel D. Mahecha,
Markus Reichstein
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
environmental research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.37
H-Index - 124
ISSN - 1748-9326
DOI - 10.1088/1748-9326/ac4139
Subject(s) - environmental science , climate change , storm , extreme weather , vulnerability (computing) , ecosystem , heat wave , scale (ratio) , climatology , environmental resource management , geography , meteorology , ecology , geology , cartography , computer science , computer security , biology
Extreme hydrological and meteorological conditions can severely affect ecosystems, parts of the economy, and consequently society. These impacts are expected to be aggravated by climate change. Here we analyze and compare the impacts of multiple types of extreme events across several domains in Europe, to reveal corresponding impact signatures. We characterize the distinct impacts of droughts, floods, heat waves, frosts and storms on a variety of biophysical and social variables at national level and half-monthly time scale. We find strong biophysical impacts of droughts, floods, heat waves and frosts, while public attention and property damage are more affected by storms and floods. We show unexpected impact patterns such as reduced human mortality during floods and storms. Comparing public attention anomalies with impacts across all other considered domains we find that attention on droughts is comparatively low despite the significant overall impacts. Resolving these impact patterns highlights large-scale vulnerability and supports regional extreme event management to consequently reduce disaster risks.