Faster disaster: climate change fuels ‘flash droughts’, intense downpours and storms

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🗞️ Driving the news: Global extreme weather events, such as European heatwaves and flash floods in Greece and Libya, are increasing in frequency and intensity
• The rapid emergence of phenomena like "flash droughts" underscores the accelerating impact of climate change

🔭 The context: Climate change has long been known to amplify the intensity of weather events, but recent occurrences suggest that it might also be accelerating their onset
• Terms like “flash drought” have emerged to describe droughts that form rapidly due to a combination of no rainfall, high temperatures, and low humidity

🌎 Why does it matter for the planet: The consequences of these swift climatic shifts are profound, impacting agriculture, ecosystems, and infrastructure

⏭️ What's next: As the planet continues to warm, it's anticipated that these rapidly unfolding weather events will become even more frequent and intense 
• This will necessitate new strategies and preparations to cope with the unpredictable nature of these extremes

💬 One quote: "Climate change loads the dice for extreme weather. And as we’re now seeing, these extremes aren’t just more intense – they can happen remarkably fast." (Andrew King, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, The University of Melbourne)

📈 One stat: Recent floods in Greece resulted from a sudden downpour of over 500 millimetres in just one day, and Hong Kong experienced its heaviest rains in 140 years

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