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Climate Extremes, the Past and the Future
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Climate Extremes, the Past and the Future

A special issue of Climate (ISSN 2225-1154).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2017) | Viewed by 59925

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Christina Anagnostopoulou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Meteorology Climatology, School of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: climatology; synoptic climatology; weather types; dynamic climatology; teleconnection patterns; climate change; regional climate models; dynamical downscaling extremes—climate hazards—statistical climatology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Extreme weather and climate events are already happening, with changing regularity worldwide, because of climate change. As the climate has warmed, some types of extreme weather have become more frequent and severe: Heat waves are longer and hotter, heavy precipitation and flooding are more frequent, drought is more intense and more widespread.

In addition to advanced weather and climate extremes studies, there are many more challenges in optimally analyzing extreme climate observations and their impacts. This is because there are various shortcomings associated with observed and projected discrepancies of extreme climate data.

This Special Issue aims to summarize the current state-of-the-art in climate extremes by recording and understanding extremes, as well as proposing advance adaptation for managing risk of extreme events. Moreover, this Special Issue will consist of papers that integrate different approaches for evaluating characteristics of extremes or changes in extremes.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Changes in weather and climate extremes

            Temperature: heat waves, frost, etc.

            Precipitation: heavy precipitation, drought, floods, wind, etc.

  • Risks of weather and climate extreme events and disasters
  • Climate extremes and impacts
  • Observed and projected changes in climate extremes
  • Changes in phenomena related to climate extremes (monsoon, tropical cyclones, waves, etc.)

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Christina Anagnostopoulou
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

2404 KiB  
Article
Classification of Rainfall Warnings Based on the TOPSIS Method
by Sadegh Zeyaeyan, Ebrahim Fattahi, Abbas Ranjbar and Majid Vazifedoust
Climate 2017, 5(2), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli5020033 - 17 Apr 2017
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5515
Abstract
Extreme weather, by definition, is any unexpected, unusual, unpredictable, severe or unseasonal weather condition. A rainfall event that is considered normal in one region may be considered a torrent in a dry region and may cause flash flooding. Therefore, appropriate weather warnings need [...] Read more.
Extreme weather, by definition, is any unexpected, unusual, unpredictable, severe or unseasonal weather condition. A rainfall event that is considered normal in one region may be considered a torrent in a dry region and may cause flash flooding. Therefore, appropriate weather warnings need to be issued with respect to areas with different climates. Additionally, these alerts should be easy to understand—by clear classification—in order to apply reinforcements. Early warning levels not only depend on the intensity and duration of rainfall events, but also on the initial water stress conditions, land cover situations and degree of urbanization. This research has focused on defining different warning levels in northwest Iran using long-term precipitation data from 87 weather stations well distributed across the study area. Here, in order to determine alert levels, TOPSIS (The Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution), as one of the most common methods in multi-criteria decision making, has been used. Results show that five main levels of alerts can be derived, leading to the provision of spatial maps. Further, it can be deduced that these levels are highly associated to the location of a region at different times: months/seasons. It has been observed that the issuance of a warning for precipitation should correspond with the location and time. At one location during different seasons, different alert levels would be raised corresponding to the rainfall. It was also concluded that using of fixed alert levels and extending them to larger areas without considering the seasons could be grossly misleading. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Extremes, the Past and the Future)
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4876 KiB  
Article
Climatic Study of the Marine Surface Wind Field over the Greek Seas with the Use of a High Resolution RCM Focusing on Extreme Winds
by Christos Vagenas, Christina Anagnostopoulou and Konstantia Tolika
Climate 2017, 5(2), 29; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli5020029 - 31 Mar 2017
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 7070
Abstract
The marine surface wind field (10 m) over the Greek seas is analyzed in this study using The RegCM. The model’s spatial resolution is dynamically downscaled to 10 km × 10 km, in order to simulate more efficiently the complex coastlines and the [...] Read more.
The marine surface wind field (10 m) over the Greek seas is analyzed in this study using The RegCM. The model’s spatial resolution is dynamically downscaled to 10 km × 10 km, in order to simulate more efficiently the complex coastlines and the numerous islands of Greece. Wind data for the 1980–2000 and 2080–2100 periods are produced and evaluated against real observational data from 15 island and coastal meteorological stations in order to assess the model’s ability to reproduce the main characteristics of the surface wind fields. RegCM model shows a higher simulating skill to project seasonal wind speeds and direction during summer and the lowest simulating skill in the cold period of the year. Extreme wind speed thresholds were estimated using percentiles indices and three Peak Over Threshold (POT) techniques. The mean threshold values of the three POT methods are used to examine the inter-annual distribution of extreme winds in the study region. The highest thresholds were observed in three poles; the northeast, the southeast, and the southwest of Aegean Sea. Future changes in extreme speeds show a general increase in the Aegean Sea, while lower thresholds are expected in the Ionian Sea. Return levels for periods of 20, 50, 100, and 200 years are estimated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Extremes, the Past and the Future)
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1743 KiB  
Article
Long-Term Climate Trends and Extreme Events in Northern Fennoscandia (1914–2013)
by Sonja Kivinen, Sirpa Rasmus, Kirsti Jylhä and Mikko Laapas
Climate 2017, 5(1), 16; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli5010016 - 26 Feb 2017
Cited by 58 | Viewed by 10016
Abstract
We studied climate trends and the occurrence of rare and extreme temperature and precipitation events in northern Fennoscandia in 1914–2013. Weather data were derived from nine observation stations located in Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia. The results showed that spring and autumn temperatures [...] Read more.
We studied climate trends and the occurrence of rare and extreme temperature and precipitation events in northern Fennoscandia in 1914–2013. Weather data were derived from nine observation stations located in Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia. The results showed that spring and autumn temperatures and to a lesser extent summer temperatures increased significantly in the study region, the observed changes being the greatest for daily minimum temperatures. The number of frost days declined both in spring and autumn. Rarely cold winter, spring, summer and autumn seasons had a low occurrence and rarely warm spring and autumn seasons a high occurrence during the last 20-year interval (1994–2013), compared to the other 20-year intervals. That period was also characterized by a low number of days with extremely low temperature in all seasons (4–9% of all extremely cold days) and a high number of April and October days with extremely high temperature (36–42% of all extremely warm days). A tendency of exceptionally high daily precipitation sums to grow even higher towards the end of the study period was also observed. To summarize, the results indicate a shortening of the cold season in northern Fennoscandia. Furthermore, the results suggest significant declines in extremely cold climate events in all seasons and increases in extremely warm climate events particularly in spring and autumn seasons. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Extremes, the Past and the Future)
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1737 KiB  
Article
Hydroclimatic Characteristics of the 2012–2015 California Drought from an Operational Perspective
by Minxue He, Mitchel Russo and Michael Anderson
Climate 2017, 5(1), 5; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli5010005 - 21 Jan 2017
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 7014
Abstract
California experienced an extraordinary drought from 2012–2015 (which continues into 2016). This study, from an operational perspective, reviewed the development of this drought in a hydroclimatic framework and examined its characteristics at different temporal and spatial scales. Observed and reconstructed operational hydrologic indices [...] Read more.
California experienced an extraordinary drought from 2012–2015 (which continues into 2016). This study, from an operational perspective, reviewed the development of this drought in a hydroclimatic framework and examined its characteristics at different temporal and spatial scales. Observed and reconstructed operational hydrologic indices and variables widely used in water resources planning and management at statewide and (hydrologic) regional scales were employed for this purpose. Parsimonious metrics typically applied in drought assessment and management practices including the drought monitor category, percent of average, and rank were utilized to facilitate the analysis. The results indicated that the drought was characterized by record low snowpack (statewide four-year accumulated deficit: 280%-of-average), exceptionally low April-July runoff (220%-of-average deficit), and significantly below average reservoir storage (93%-of-average deficit). During the period from 2012–2015, in general, water year 2015 stood out as the driest single year; 2014–2015 was the driest two-year period; and 2013–2015 tended to be the driest three-year period. Contrary to prior studies stating that the 2012–2015 drought was unprecedented, this study illustrated that based on eight out of 28 variables, the 2012–2015 drought was not without precedent in the record period. Spatially, on average, the South Coast Region, the Central Coast Region, the Tulare Region, and the San Joaquin Region generally had the most severe drought conditions. Overall, these findings are highly meaningful for water managers in terms of making better informed adaptive management plans. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Extremes, the Past and the Future)
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2343 KiB  
Article
Rising Precipitation Extremes across Nepal
by Ramchandra Karki, Shabeh ul Hasson, Udo Schickhoff, Thomas Scholten and Jürgen Böhner
Climate 2017, 5(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli5010004 - 13 Jan 2017
Cited by 158 | Viewed by 21866
Abstract
As a mountainous country, Nepal is most susceptible to precipitation extremes and related hazards, including severe floods, landslides and droughts that cause huge losses of life and property, impact the Himalayan environment, and hinder the socioeconomic development of the country. Given that the [...] Read more.
As a mountainous country, Nepal is most susceptible to precipitation extremes and related hazards, including severe floods, landslides and droughts that cause huge losses of life and property, impact the Himalayan environment, and hinder the socioeconomic development of the country. Given that the countrywide assessment of such extremes is still lacking, we present a comprehensive picture of prevailing precipitation extremes observed across Nepal. First, we present the spatial distribution of daily extreme precipitation indices as defined by the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection, Monitoring and Indices (ETCCDMI) from 210 stations over the period of 1981–2010. Then, we analyze the temporal changes in the computed extremes from 76 stations, featuring long-term continuous records for the period of 1970–2012, by applying a non-parametric Mann−Kendall test to identify the existence of a trend and Sen’s slope method to calculate the true magnitude of this trend. Further, the local trends in precipitation extremes have been tested for their field significance over the distinct physio-geographical regions of Nepal, such as the lowlands, middle mountains and hills and high mountains in the west (WL, WM and WH, respectively), and likewise, in central (CL, CM and CH) and eastern (EL, EM and EH) Nepal. Our results suggest that the spatial patterns of high-intensity precipitation extremes are quite different to that of annual or monsoonal precipitation. Lowlands (Terai and Siwaliks) that feature relatively low precipitation and less wet days (rainy days) are exposed to high-intensity precipitation extremes. Our trend analysis suggests that the pre-monsoonal precipitation is significantly increasing over the lowlands and CH, while monsoonal precipitation is increasing in WM and CH and decreasing in CM, CL and EL. On the other hand, post-monsoonal precipitation is significantly decreasing across all of Nepal while winter precipitation is decreasing only over the WM region. Both high-intensity precipitation extremes and annual precipitation trends feature east−west contrast, suggesting significant increase over the WM and CH region but decrease over the EM and CM regions. Further, a significant positive trend in the number of consecutive dry days but significant negative trend in the number of wet (rainy) days are observed over the whole of Nepal, implying the prolongation of the dry spell across the country. Overall, the intensification of different precipitation indices over distinct parts of the country indicates region-specific risks of floods, landslides and droughts. The presented findings, in combination with population and environmental pressures, can support in devising the adequate region-specific adaptation strategies for different sectors and in improving the livelihood of the rural communities in Nepal. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Extremes, the Past and the Future)
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4807 KiB  
Article
Life Cycle Characteristics of Warm-Season Severe Thunderstorms in Central United States from 2010 to 2014
by Weibo Liu and Xingong Li
Climate 2016, 4(3), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli4030045 - 8 Sep 2016
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 7360
Abstract
Weather monitoring systems, such as Doppler radars, collect a high volume of measurements with fine spatial and temporal resolutions that provide opportunities to study many convective weather events. This study examines the spatial and temporal characteristics of severe thunderstorm life cycles in central [...] Read more.
Weather monitoring systems, such as Doppler radars, collect a high volume of measurements with fine spatial and temporal resolutions that provide opportunities to study many convective weather events. This study examines the spatial and temporal characteristics of severe thunderstorm life cycles in central United States mainly covering Kansas, Oklahoma, and northern Texas during the warm seasons from 2010 to 2014. Thunderstorms are identified using radar reflectivity and cloud-to-ground lightning data and are tracked using a directed graph model that can represent the whole life cycle of a thunderstorm. Thunderstorms were stored in a GIS database with a number of additional thunderstorm attributes. Spatial and temporal characteristics of the thunderstorms were analyzed, including the yearly total number of thunderstorms, their monthly distribution, durations, initiation time, termination time, movement speed and direction, and the spatial distributions of thunderstorm tracks, initiations, and terminations. Results revealed that thunderstorms were most frequent across the eastern part of the study area, especially at the borders between Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Finally, thunderstorm occurrence is linked to land cover, including a comparison of thunderstorms between urban and surrounding rural areas. Results demonstrated that thunderstorms would favor forests and urban areas. This study demonstrates that advanced GIS representations and analyses for spatiotemporal events provide effective research tools to meteorological studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Extremes, the Past and the Future)
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