Compound hydroclimatic extremes combine multiple drivers or hazards in ways that amplify risk across time, space, or interconnected systems. A key distinction is that compound events can occur simultaneously, in sequence, or across linked regions, meaning that heat, drought, floods, wildfires, and infrastructure failures often reinforce each other rather than act alone (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], 2021; Zscheischler et al., 2018). For decision-makers, this framing replaces single-hazard thinking with a more realistic view of nonlinear infrastructure and portfolio exposure (IPCC, 2021; Zscheischler et al., 2018).
References
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2021). Chapter 11: Weather and climate extreme events in a changing climate. In Climate change 2021: The physical science basis. Cambridge University Press.
- Zscheischler, J., Westra, S., van den Hurk, B. J. J. M., Seneviratne, S. I., Ward, P. J., Pitman, A., AghaKouchak, A., Bresch, D. N., Leonard, M., Wahl, T., & Zhang, X. (2018). Future climate risk from compound events. Nature Climate Change, 8, 469-477. doi:10.1038/s41558-018-0156-3.