March 21, 2018

expert reaction to new report on extreme weather and climate change

EASAC has published a new report: Extreme weather events in Europe.

Dr Phil Williamson, climate researcher at the University of East Anglia (UEA), said:

“The linkage between climate change and individual weather events – such as the Beast from the East – is inherently uncertain.  Nevertheless, the EASAC report does provide convincing evidence for an increasing frequency of extreme weather in Europe, with major economic consequences.

“These results are fully consistent with the global trends, from this new report and other analyses, on the consequences of increased heat energy in the Earth system.  For example, there have been roughly ten times more warm record-breaking temperatures than cold ones in the past 150 years.

“On a day-to-day basis, we can’t choose what weather we get.  But there is a societal choice on what the climate will be in future, with its associated weather extremes, depending on how rapidly national commitments relating to the Paris Agreement are implemented”.

Prof Rob Wilby, Professor of Hydroclimatic Modelling at Loughborough University, said:

“In addition to improving the resilience of UK infrastructure and social systems, we also need to continue with long-term climate monitoring systems on land and in the ocean. The risk of extreme weather events is unlikely to follow a neat trend but rather will rise and fall into hazard-rich and poor decades.  Keeping a close eye on evolving conditions in the Atlantic is, therefore, a smart thing for Europeans to do.”

* ‘Extreme weather events in Europe’ published by the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council (EASAC) on Wednesday 21 March 2018.

Declared interests

Dr Phil Williamson: is a science coordinator at the University of East Anglia, employed by the Natural Environment Research Council.

No others received.