Extreme heat, drought, and floods are increasingly occurring together worldwide as a result of human-caused climate change.
This shift represents a fundamental change in global weather patterns. The simultaneous occurrence of these extremes threatens urban infrastructure, food security, and public health across diverse geographic regions.
In 2024, researchers found that human-caused climate change added 41 days [1] of dangerous heat to the year. This warming trend is not limited to tropical regions. In parts of Europe, temperatures recorded during the summer reached above 40 °C [2].
"Extreme heat is no longer confined to the places we traditionally think of as hot," Kim Mok-yeon said.
The impact is visible in major metropolitan hubs. Residents in Seoul, South Korea, and Bangkok, Thailand, have faced intensifying weather extremes. Across Europe and Latin America, governments are grappling with a cycle of prolonged droughts followed by intense rainfall and flooding [3, 4].
In Latin America, officials are specifically preparing for the effects of El Niño, which exacerbates the existing volatility of heat and water levels [3]. The pattern of extreme weather is driven by higher global temperatures that allow the atmosphere to hold more moisture, leading to more intense rainfall in some areas while accelerating evaporation in others [5, 6].
Environmental experts suggest that Europe requires a restoration of wetlands, rivers, and landscapes to mitigate these risks [4]. Without such interventions, the cycle of fire and flood is expected to persist as the planet continues to warm.
“"Extreme heat is no longer confined to the places we traditionally think of as hot."”
The convergence of these weather extremes suggests that climate change is no longer producing isolated events, but rather a systemic shift in global stability. The data from 2024 indicates that the window for traditional urban planning has closed, requiring cities to build resilience against contradictory threats—such as extreme drought and flash flooding—simultaneously.
