Fig. 5 | Cascading hydroclimate whiplash hazards in a warming climate.
The pathways through which hydrological extremes and rapid whiplash
transitions between wet and dry states can lead to complex effects in the
broader Earth system. The dark arrows represent cascading relationships
(in which the initial event causes indirect but substantial downstream effects via an intermediate step or process), and the red vertical arrows show increases or decreases in specific impacts under anthropogenic warming. The processes labelled in blue represent effects caused by wet events alone, those labelled in yellow represent those caused by dry events alone and processes labelled in grey represent those specifically caused by rapid whiplash transitions.
Together, natural variability and anthropogenic climate change contribute to meteorological extremes that can cause hydroclimate whiplash events — with subsequent cascading and wide-ranging impacts that are often distinct from wet or dry extremes occurring in isolation.
A factor behind the Los Angeles #firestorms:
"Hydroclimate volatility refers to sudden, large and/or frequent
transitions between very dry and very wet conditions. This review examines how #hydroclimate #volatility is anticipated to evolve with anthropogenic warming" www.nature.com/articles/s43...