Anthropogenic climate change doubled the frequency of compound drought and heatwaves in low-income regions
Abstract Compound drought-heatwaves have garnered widespread attention due to their catastrophic consequences. However, little research has investigated inequalities in exposure to compound drought-heatwaves under climate change. Here, we reveal a significant disparity between low-income and high-in...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01894-7 |
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| Summary: | Abstract Compound drought-heatwaves have garnered widespread attention due to their catastrophic consequences. However, little research has investigated inequalities in exposure to compound drought-heatwaves under climate change. Here, we reveal a significant disparity between low-income and high-income regions in terms of global compound drought-heatwave occurrence using observations and climate models. We find that low-income regions experienced a 377% [351–403%] increase in the frequency of compound drought-heatwaves from 1981 to 2020, which is twice as fast as the increase observed in high-income regions (184% [153–204%]). This inequality is largely attributed to a similar disparity in drought occurrence rather than heatwave occurrence. Climate change attribution suggests that anthropogenic warming has doubled the frequency of compound drought-heatwaves over 31% [14–50%] of low-income regions, compared to only 4.7% [0.9–8.3%] of high-income regions. The frequency of compound drought-heatwaves would not have increased in low-income regions without anthropogenic climate change but would still have risen in high-income regions. |
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| ISSN: | 2662-4435 |