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When cyclones & fires collide + All regions experienced water extremes in 2021

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All regions experienced water extremes in 2021: UN
https://phys.org/news/2022-11-regions-ex...remes.html

INTRO: All regions of the world saw water extremes last year—both floods and droughts—and billions of people had insufficient freshwater, the United Nations said on Tuesday. Large areas of the planet recorded drier than normal conditions in 2021, the UN's World Meteorological Organization said in its first annual State of Global Water Resources report.

The report assesses the effects of changes in the climate, environment and society on the Earth's freshwater resources—limited supplies that are under growing demand—so they can be managed better.

"The impacts of climate change are often felt through water—more intense and frequent droughts, more extreme flooding, more erratic seasonal rainfall and accelerated melting of glaciers—with cascading effects on economies, ecosystems and all aspects of our daily lives," said WMO head Petteri Taalas. "And yet there is insufficient understanding of changes in the distribution, quantity and quality of freshwater resources."

Some 3.6 billion people face inadequate access to freshwater at least one month per year. That is forecast to rise to more than five billion by 2050, the report said.

Between 2001 and 2018, 74 percent of all natural disasters were water-related, according to UN studies. In 2021, all regions saw devastating water extremes, the report said... (MORE - details)


When cyclones and fires collide…
https://www.unisa.edu.au/media-centre/Re...s-collide/

RELEASE: As strong winds and torrential rains inundate Australia's south-eastern coast, new research suggests that high intensity bushfires might not be too far behind, with their dual effects extending damage zones and encroaching on previously low-risk residential areas.

Conducted by an international research team, including the University of South Australia, the research is the first to examine what happens when cyclones and fires interact. The study found that when severe weather events occur in close succession (more common due to climate change) they can have major impacts on the environment, with the interactive effect of the two disturbances being larger than that of each individual event combined.

UniSA researcher and ecologist, Associate Professor Gunnar Keppel, says that understanding the effects of intense weather changes can help us safeguard against damaging outcomes.

"Cyclones and fires are formidable weather events in their own right, but when they occur in close succession, their effect can more than double," Assoc Prof Keppel says. "When a tropical cyclone or a storm hits, it opens forest canopies, creating a large amount of debris and drier and warmer conditions on the ground. In turn, this dry material increases the likelihood, intensity, and area of subsequent fires. Furthermore, with cyclones expected to occur at lower latitudes, it might mean that fires could occur in previously untouched areas, for example, the greater Brisbane area in Australia. We need to be aware of this so that we can mitigate possible risks."

The research coincides with CSIRO's 2022 State of the Climate report which projects a greater proportion of high-intensity storms, longer fire seasons and more dangerous fire weather. Assoc Prof Keppel says that shifting weather patterns affect all aspects of our environment -- from ecosystems to suburban areas.

"Climate change is modifying cyclone and fire regimes worldwide, producing increased intensities of cyclone-fire interactions that change biomes and their distributions," Assoc Prof Keppel says. "Once an environment is damaged, it takes time to regenerate, and if it doesn't recover due to a fire or subsequent cyclone, the negative impacts last longer and can reduce protective buffer zones for other regions. Understanding the likely future interactions of cyclones and fires under climate change is a necessary step to protect against avoidable devastation."
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