Raising Risk Awareness

The document discusses the application of extreme event attribution to understand the role of climate change in specific weather events, using two Indian case studies to illustrate the complexities of vulnerability and the masking effects of aerosols.

• In the case of the extreme one-day rainfall in Chennai on 1 December 2015, researchers found no measurable effect of human-caused emissions, which was likely due to the masking effects of high levels of aerosol pollution in the region.
• Chennai's high vulnerability and exposure to flooding are driven by land-use issues, including the loss of water bodies, encroachment of drainage channels and rivers, decreased natural areas, and the uncontrolled growth of built-up areas.
• While annual mean temperatures across India are increasing in line with human-caused climate change, analysis of individual heatwaves, including the record high of 51°C in Phalodi on 19 May 2016, did not find that human-induced climate change played a role.
• The lack of a detectable climate change trend in certain Indian heatwaves may be attributed to irrigation use and the masking effect of aerosols on warming, noting that aerosol optical depth is decreasing in areas where maximum temperatures are increasing.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (n.d.). Raising Risk Awareness. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Infographic-with-case-studies.pdf

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. Raising Risk Awareness. n.d. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Infographic-with-case-studies.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=Raising Risk Awareness |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Infographic-with-case-studies.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetworkndraising, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{Raising Risk Awareness}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Infographic-with-case-studies.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }