Climate extremes

Life with dust: its impacts and how to catch it

Gabriele Amato April 4, 2022

18 April 1935: Dust storm approaching Stratford, Texas. Dust Bowl surveying in Texas. Credit NOAA George E. Marsh Album, theb1365, Historic C&GS Collection. http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/htmls/theb1365.html

In today’s interview, we have the pleasure to meet Dr Slobodan Nickovic, who won the prestigious 2022 Plinius Medal. Slobodan is a research consultant at the Republic Hydrometeorological Service of Serbia, and at the Institute of Physics in Belgrade, Serbia. Throughout his career, he worked for national and international educational, scientific, and operational institutions including the Uni ...[Read More]

Putting some pieces of the climate puzzle together, a chat with Jakob Zscheischler

Vale Cigala February 20, 2022

“Support” is an art installation by artist Lorenzo Quinn located in Venice, Italy. Two giant hands emerge from the world-famous Grand Canal to protect and support the historical building of the Ca’ Sagredo Hotel. With this sculpture, Quinn wants to raise people's awareness about climate change and its effects in one of the cities most at risk. Credit: Hung Vuong Pham (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

The climate on our home planet is changing, and the effects of this change affect all of us at different levels starting from an enhancement of extreme weather events, a severe natural hazard. Climate change has several drivers, which in turn have complex interactions. Thus, it should not surprise us if climate science is a complex and interdisciplinary discipline with numerous players and great p ...[Read More]

Who’s afraid of Natech?

Giulia Roder February 7, 2022

Natural hazards that impact industrial sites and result in technological accidents, causing the release of hazardous substances, are referred to as Natech events. In the popular imagination, Natech accidents are triggered by major natural hazard events. However, experience tells us that low magnitude natural events, such as lightning or heavy rains, are sufficient to cause enormous adverse effects ...[Read More]

Define and assess drought, the herculean challenge!

Joana Parente November 29, 2021

The drying out of the soil in the wadis of the Dead Sea Valley. Credit: Stefan Schmitt (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

The frequency and intensity of drought periods have increased since the 1950s over most land areas [1]. In fact, between 1998 and 2017, drought was the sixth natural hazard associated with disasters (4.8% of the total number of disasters) but the second in terms of the total number of affected people (33% of the total number of affected people), causing more than 21,000 deaths [2]. For example, in ...[Read More]