From drought to flood: water extremes under climate change

Ce séminaire se tiendra au format hybride, en ligne et en personne au local GEO-1620, sur le campus de l'UNIL. Il est organisé en collaboration avec le Centre d'expertise sur les extrêmes climatiques (ECCE).

The frequency and magnitude of hydrological extremes, namely, droughts, floods, and their transitions, are undergoing change. In this talk, I show how these different types of extremes are responding to climate change and how they are influenced by water regulation, specifically reservoirs. In addition, I discuss potential adaptation approaches to ongoing and future changes in hydrologic extremes.

Heavy precipitation causes severe flooding and water storage issues across the globe, especially in the Tropics where most of the vulnerable world population resides. Understanding and accurately representing precipitation processes in tropical regions is therefore crucial for improving forecasting tools in the Tropics and global Earth system models used for climate projections.