Extreme Weather May Hit Coastal Asia Hard with Climate Change in the Next 50 Years

Coastal Asia may suffer the most from extreme weather patterns over the next 50 years. Scientists have taken a closer look at climate models and have found that these areas are particularly vulnerable.

Heat waves, typhoons and flash floods have been increasing occurrence globally. This is largely due to shifting climate patterns which may be caused by climate change.

Historical climate projections for the Indian subcontinent suggest an overall increase in temperature by two degrees, which has resulted in a noticeable rise in heat waves and hot days. In this case, researchers conducted a regional diagnostic study for the critical risks and impacts of climate change in the semi-arid regions of Maharashtra, Karnatak and Tamil Nadu states in southwestern and peninsular India. They found that rising occurrences of heat waves and hot days affected the health sector, mainly due to an increased outbreak of diseases and increased risk of heat stress. In addition, the incidence of these events is increasing.

"Heat waves that [were once] expected to occur twice a century [are now], in the early 2000s, expected to occur twice a decade," said Peter Stott, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Human influence has very likely at least doubled the likelihood of such an event."

What's important to note is that extreme weather will drastically impact regions that are less developed. However, it's still hard to confirm a distinct correlation with climate change. Climate systems are very complex and natural variability makes it difficult to separate out human influence on extreme weather events from other factors. In addition, extreme weather is relatively rare and can take a long time to identify significant trends.

What this latest report does show, though, is that areas should prepare for the future, especially with the threat of sea level rise.

The report, called "Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability," was present at the Common Future under Climate Change conference held in July.

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