Search

River floods that occur simultaneously in multiple locations can lead to higher damages than individual events. Here, the authors show that the likelihood of concurrent high river discharge has increased over the last decades.

Widespread changes to regional flood response were observed worldwide following three large explosive eruptions at tropical latitudes, according to a statistical comparison of seasonal peak flows and their climate drivers.

Coastal flood risk is strongly influenced by sea-level rise and changes in tropical cyclone activity, but these factors are usually considered independently. Research now accounts for their joint contribution to coastal flood hazard for the US East Coast over the 21^st century.

Aging US dams face increasing overtopping risks due to changing hydrologic conditions. This study evaluates 33 dams using updated frequency analysis and identifies six dams with the greatest probability, posing risks to downstream populations.

This study looks at changes in North Atlantic tropical storm occurrence in the twenty-first century, and finds that over the first half of the century, storm frequency increases were caused by radiative forcing changes, not increasing carbon dioxide. The chaotic nature of the climate system and the climate response to radiative forcing are the largest uncertainties in North Atlantic tropical storm frequency.

Climate models predict an increase in intense rainfall events due to a warmer atmosphere retaining more moisture. This study looks at observations from the central USA and reports that there has been an increase in the frequency of flooding, but little evidence for larger flood peaks.

Changes in river discharge due to climate change are highly uncertain, and a recent study used a global streamflow dataset to assess whether such trends are detectable. Streamflow changes occurred more often in basins impacted by human disturbances than in pristine ones, and there was no clear signal from climate change alone.

Due to their intense moisture transport, atmospheric rivers are associated with hydrological hazards such as extreme rainfall and flooding. This Review discusses how atmospheric-river characteristics and impacts may change with warming, synthesizing physical theory, observations and modelling.

This paper assesses future changes in flood magnitude across the conterminous United States based on multiple climate change scenarios. The results suggest that annual maximum peak discharge is projected to become more extreme under higher emission scenarios.

Global-scale structural connectivity is modeled by tectonic and climate processes. Modeling suggests that as the climate warms, it could lead to increased erosion in source areas, while decreased rainfall may hinder sediment flow downstream.

How tropical cyclones have varied in intensity and frequency in the past is not well known as longer records are rare. Here, the authors show that changes in observing practices explain the recorded century scale increase in Atlantic major hurricane frequency, and recent increases are not part of a century-scale trend.

Modelling the contribution of urbanization to the impacts associated with hurricane Harvey in August 2017 shows that urbanization worsens rainfall and flooding.

Days with extreme wind chill in Alaska are decreasing in frequency, especially at lower elevations, and with a reduced length of season, according to numerical simulations which account for large-scale mean-state climate conditions.

Climate change is primarily responsible for changes in tropical cyclone rainfall patterns and amounts, while urbanization primarily shifts rainfall distribution, with its impact in urban areas being comparable to that of climate change, according to a convection-permitting model analysis of ten typhoons in a highly urbanized region of China.

Short-duration rainfall extremes are determined by complex processes that are affected by the warming climate. This Review assesses the evidence for the intensification of short-duration rainfall extremes, the associated drivers and the implications for flood risks.