Answer: Extreme Weather events are those events that are “rare at a particular place and time of year” (UN- IPCC). The India Meteorological Department (IMD) identifies extreme weather events to include lightning and thunderstorms, intense rainfall, landslides, floods, cold waves, heatwaves, cyclones, snowfall, dust storms, sandstorms, squalls, hailstorms, and gales.

Impact of climate change on extreme weather events:

The WMO “Global State of the Climate Report” 2022 edition has claimed that rising temperatures have resulted in an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events including tornadoes, heatwaves, droughts, floods, cyclones, etc. all over the world.

• Forest Fires: Heatwaves are expected to be three times more likely to occur due to climate change (World Weather Attribution). This results in forest fire events. Example forest fires in Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain (Catalonia) and Australian bushfires.
• Simultaneous occurrence of floods and droughts: According to the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) Report, titled “Preparing India for extreme climate events” many districts in India are facing floods and droughts simultaneously. Example: floods and droughts coincide during the same season in several districts of Bihar, U.P, Odisha and Tamil Nadu.
• Arabian Sea witnessing more cyclones: The Indian Ocean is heating up at a faster pace in comparison to the Pacific or the Atlantic and in fact, the western parts of the Indian Ocean are warming up even more. On account of this, there has been an 80% increase in the total duration of cyclones in the Arabian Sea during the last two decades. Example: Cyclone Tauktae in 2021.
• Less stable polar vortex: Arctic temperatures are rising at twice the global average rate (Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme). The disruption of Arctic circulation patterns can result in unusual weather events, such as the "polar vortex" plunging into the United States, causing extreme cold spells in 2020.
• Swapping of Nature of Extreme Events: According to the CEEW report, titled “Preparing India for extreme climate events” India is witnessing a swapping of the nature of extreme events. As flood-prone areas are becoming drought-prone and vice-versa, in over 40% of Indian districts. Exampl: floods in Barmer district of Rajasthan in 2006.

Measures to enhance preparedness:

• Efforts for Emissions Reduction: As human-made greenhouse gas emissions are recognized as a contributing factor to extreme weather events, India has introduced the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) in response. Further, we need to accelerate our transition towards renewable energy.
• Climate Risk Atlas: Develop a Climate Risk Atlas to map critical vulnerabilities such as coasts, urban heat stress, water stress, and biodiversity collapse.
• Robust Early Warning Systems: Develop an Integrated Emergency Surveillance System to facilitate a systematic and sustained response to emergencies. For example, the successful evacuation of millions during Cyclone Phailin in 2013 and Cyclone Amphan in 2020.
• Climate-resilient Infrastructure: To enhance the resilience capacity of infrastructure to extreme events India launched with the UN in 2019 the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CRDI). Further, in this regard, countries need to collaborate to create a global methodology for conducting infrastructure resilience reviews and stress testing, based on the Principles for Resilient Infrastructure.
• Integrated Climate Action Plans: Developing comprehensive climate action plans through participatory engagement of all stakeholders in the risk assessment process and by integrating risk assessment into local, sub-national, and national level plans. In order to promote preparedness, and encourage sustainable practices such as rainwater harvesting and waste management.

To effectively mitigate the impacts of climate change on extreme weather events international collaboration is crucial with regard to the attainment of revised nationally determined goals under the Paris Agreement and to develop a new approach to finance disaster risk reduction.