World Climate Research Programme (WCRP)
WCRP Sponsors
Advanced search
  • About WCRP
      • Back
      • About us
      • History
      • Organization
      • Governance
      • Sponsors and Contributors
      • Partners
      • WCRP Film
      • How to get Involved
      • Contact Us
  • Core Projects
      • Back
      • Overview
      • Climate and Cryosphere (CliC)
      • Climate and Ocean Variability, Predictability and Change (CLIVAR)
      • Earth System Modelling and Observations (ESMO)
          • Back
          • ESMO Overview
          • Working Group on Coupled Modelling
          • The Working Group on Subseasonal to Interdecadal Prediction
          • Working Group on Numerical Experimentation
          • Coupled Model Intercomparison Project
          • Subseasonal to Seasonal Prediction Project
          • Decadal Climate Prediction Project
      • Global Energy and Water Exchanges (GEWEX)
      • Regional Information for Society (RIfS)
          • Back
          • RIfS Overview
          • Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX)
      • Stratosphere-troposphere Processes And their Role in Climate (SPARC)
  • Grand Challenges
      • Back
      • Grand Challenges Overview
      • Clouds, Circulation & Climate Sensitivity
      • Melting Ice & Global Consequences
      • Weather and Climate Extremes
      • Regional Sea-level Change & Coastal Impacts
      • Water for the Food Baskets of the World
      • Near-Term Climate Prediction
      • Carbon Feedbacks in the Climate System
  • Lighthouse Activities
      • Back
      • Overview
      • Digital Earths
      • Explaining and Predicting Earth System Change
      • My Climate Risk
      • Safe Landing Climates
      • WCRP Academy
  • Events
      • Back
      • WCRP Events
      • Community Calendar
      • WCRP OSC 2023
      • JSC Session 2023
      • WCRP: AGU Fall Meeting 2022
      • COP27 2022
      • WCRP Climate Research Forums
  • News
      • Back
      • WCRP News
      • WCRP Highlights
      • WCRP Newsletter
      • Main RSS feed
  • Resources
      • Back
      • WCRP Publications
      • Community Resources
      • Capacity Development
      • Co-sponsored and Endorsed Activities
      • Past Groups and Initiatives
      • WCRP Strategic Plan Development
      • WCRP Implementation Plan Development

Weather and Climate Extremes

Overarching Theme: Document

Are existing observations sufficient to underpin the assessment of extremes?

This theme deals with documenting and assessing past changes in extremes. Observations are the key foundation for understanding long-term climate variability and change. However, observations are often not well-constrained, and critical gaps exist in the amount, quality, consistency and availability of observations, especially with respect to extremes.

Read more …

Overarching Theme: Understand

What are the relative roles of large-scale, regional and local scale processes, as well as their interactions, for the formation of extremes?

This theme deals with the investigation and characterization of physical mechanisms leading to the occurrence of extreme events such as heat waves, droughts or floods. Recent investigations have shown that the interaction between large-scale phenomena (weather types, modes of variability) and regional-scale land-atmosphere feedbacks or forcings can be critical.

Read more …

Overarching Theme: Simulate

Are models able to reliably simulate extremes and their changes, and how can this be evaluated and improved?

There is a lack of understanding in the types of events that current models can provide credible and robust simulations for, and in the identification of key processes for climate models to capture in order to produce credible simulations of weather and climate extreme events and thus improve prediction of those events. Furthermore, the ability of models to simulate particularly small-scale extremes depends on resolution and sometimes requires downscaling.

Read more …

Overarching Theme: Attribute

What are the contributors to observed extreme events and to changes in the frequency and intensity of the observed extremes?

A key challenge for the community is to provide access to the latest information on how extremes have varied or are likely to vary under a changing climate and a range of greenhouse gas emissions scenarios. The extent to which humans are responsible for changes in extremes and particularly individual extreme weather is a challenging topic.

Read more …

References

Read more …

Weather and Climate Extremes

  • Overview
  • Research Themes
  • Leadership
  • Activities and Meetings
  • Documents

   Grand Challenges Overview

Discover

  • About WCRP
  • History
  • Organization
  • Partners

Learn

  • WCRP Core Projects
  • Grand Challenges
  • Lighthouse Activities
  • Events

Connect

  • Community Calendar
  • WCRP Secretariat
  • Joint Scientific Committee
  • How to get involved in WCRP
  • Contact
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap
© 2023 World Climate Research Programme
To Top