Under the Weather: Tracking the fingerprints of climate change

Man-made climate change is amplifying the impacts of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, drought and wildfires.

ECIU's latest report, Under the Weather – Tracking the Fingerprints of Climate Change, finds that nearly 80% of studies published in the five years since the conclusion of the Paris climate summit found that climate change played a role in amplifying extreme weather events, either making them more likely to occur or more damaging when they did occur. By comparison less than 10% found that climate change is making the extreme weather in question less likely or less damaging.

The report identifies 145 studies published in academic journals over the five years looking for a possible link from climate change to extreme weather events, of which 113 found a positive link. Although health or economic impacts are known for fewer than half of these events, the documented damage amounts to many thousands of deaths, tens of billions of dollars in economic harm, and a threat to the food supply for many millions of people.

Download the full report to find out more.