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Weather and climate extremes in a changing climate: main findings from the IPCC AR6 WG1 assessment

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Presenter: 
Dr. Xuebin Zhang
When: 
September 29, 2021 - 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Where: 

This talk will be presented online via Zoom Meetings.

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Meeting URL: https://uvic.zoom.us/j/87613291363?pwd=SGJsN2N3WmtMbVhUbG81WHJ5N3NqZz09
Meeting ID: 876 1329 1363
Password: 149769

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Meeting ID: 876 1329 1363

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The IPCC 6th Assessment Working Group I report has dedicated one chapter for the assessment of changes in weather and climate extremes. The chapter assesses these changes on regional and global scales, including past changes and their attribution, as well as future projections. The extremes assessed include temperature extremes, precipitation extremes, some aspects of floods, and compound events. Droughts, and storms including tropical cyclones are also assessed. Compared with previous assessments, there is strong emphasis on changes at regional scales. Overall, evidence of human influence on weather and climate extremes is stronger and more robust, leading to higher confidence in the assessed changes, with observed changes in some types of extremes being identified in all regions of the world. Projected changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme events become more pronounced with every increment of global warming. This presentation highlights the main findings of the assessment.

Bio:

Dr. Xuebin Zhang is a Senior Research Scientist with the Climate Research Division of Environment and Climate Change Canada. His main research interest is the understanding of how and why the climate, in particular its extreme weather and climate events, has changed over the past century and how it is likely to change in the future. He works closely with the users of climate information. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He serves as co-chair of the World Climate Research Program Grand Challenge on Weather and Climate Extremes, Editor-in-Chief for journal Weather and Climate Extremes. He served as a coordinating lead author for the IPCC 6th Assessment WGI Report, and he was also a lead author for the IPCC Special Report on managing the risks of extreme events and the 5th Assessment Working Group I Report. He led the assessment on changes in temperature and precipitation for Canada’s Changing Climate Report.