XAIDA Webinar #2

The 2nd session of our webinar will occur on Feburary 28th at 2 PM CET. Raed Hamed (VU) will speak about Climate storylines for assessing compound events and extreme crop impacts.
Check out the details to attend, discuss and follow the discussion!

XAIDA Webinar #1

The 1st session of our webinar will occur on January 24th at 10:30 AM CET. Davide FARANDA (CNRS) will speak about A framework for attributing extreme events to climate change and evaluating adaptation strategies: the example of Venice Acqua Alta events.
Check out the details to attend, discuss and follow the discussion!

PRESS: MANY DEVASTATING EXTREMES IN 2023 WERE AMPLIFIED BY GLOBAL WARMING

In 2023, the world reached new record temperatures, with an unprecedented global mean temperature of 1.48°C above pre-industrial levels. These record temperatures strongly increased the intensity of heatwaves, droughts and extreme rainfall associated with storms like Otis and Daniel.
The XAIDA team hosted a Press Conference on January 9th 2024 at 2pm CET to explain these results and methods. Find the Press Release and the video record of the Press Conference here.

Event: XAIDA at EGU 2024

Event: the XAIDA teams are hosting several sessions at EGU. Check out the sessions and submit your abstract!

How can we attribute weather extremes to climate change?

With climate change we see an increase in extreme weather events around the globe; occurrences of floods, heatwaves, and droughts. Within XAIDA, we aim to determine to what extent human induced climate change has altered the probability of occurrence and/or intensity of an extreme weather event, also known as attribution science. Several institutions work on attribution science, using different but complementary methodological frameworks. In this brief we explain the three main approaches used within XAIDA: unconditional probabilistic analysis, circulation analogues, and the storyline approach.

Paper: Attributing Venice Acqua Alta events to a changing climate and evaluating the efficacy of MoSE adaptation strategy

Read the paper: This research employs an innovative approach by utilizing analogues of atmospheric patterns to scrutinize four notable Acqua Alta events in the Venice lagoon, specifically those connected with intense Mediterranean cyclones that transpired in 1966, 2008, 2018, and 2019. The findings provide compelling evidence that modifications in atmospheric circulation, while not solely attributable to human activities, are undeniably linked to the increased severity of these events, thereby illuminating the vulnerability of Venice to the impacts of climate change. Furthermore, the study conducts a comprehensive assessment of the MoSE system, a crucial adaptation infrastructure designed to mitigate flooding in Venice, and underscores its effectiveness in protecting the city against events with historical analogues, particularly those akin to the catastrophic 1966 flood.

CHANGE OF GOVERNANCE

Life of the project – We are happy to announce that Dim COUMOU is now the Scientific Coordinator of the XAIDA Project, unanimously approved by the Consortium. Read more to know the context and the other changes in the XAIDA governance.

Paper: Heat Extremes in Western Europe warmed faster than simulated

Extract from the article, Figure 3.

Read the paper: Over the last 70 years, extreme heat in Western Europe has intensified with 3.4°C per degree global warming. A rate much larger than nearly anywhere else. Very few models capture the observed trend. None of them captures the large contribution from trends in atmospheric circulation.
The mismatch can be due to an underestimated circulation response to external forcing or underestimated unforced internal variability, or both. The former implies that heat extremes continue to intensify at an extreme rate, the latter that the trend continues but may slow down.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2023

Located in València, Spain, the XAIDA’s Second General Assembly took place in October 2023.