The Impact of Climate Change on Natural Disasters - Reducing Disaster: Early Warning Systems for Climate Change - page 20

Chapter 2
The Impact of Climate Change
on Natural Disasters
Sandra Banholzer , James Kossin , and Simon Donner
Abstract This chapter explains what hazards and disasters are, reviews their trends,
and assesses the potential impact of changing climate on hazards and extreme
events. Observations since 1950 indicate increases in some forms of extreme
weather events. The recent Special Report on Extreme Events and Disasters (SREX)
by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts further increases
in the twenty-fi rst century, including a growing frequency of heat waves, rising
wind speed of tropical cyclones, and increasing intensity of droughts. A one-in-
20-years “hottest day” event is likely to occur every other year by the end of the
twenty- fi rst century. Heavy precipitation events are also on the rise, potentially
impacting the frequency of fl oods and almost certainly affecting landslides. This
chapter also examines the science of event attribution, its potential and possible
issues. It further outlines the global distribution and impact of natural disasters.
Keywords Climate change impact • Natural hazards • Disasters • Event attribution
• Disaster risk distribution • Tropical cyclone