climate extremes
Severe atmospheric conditions
Climate extremes are weather events that fall far outside normal ranges—record-breaking heat waves, severe droughts, unprecedented floods, intense hurricanes.
The term appears frequently in discussions of climate change, where shifting baselines make such events more frequent or intense: Climate extremes are straining infrastructure designed for historical weather patterns.
- flash floodRapid overflow from storms
- heatwaveProlonged abnormally high temperatures
- heat domeStationary high-pressure extreme warmth
- cold snapBrief period of bitter chill
- hurricaneViolent tropical windstorm
polar vortex · derecho · torrential rain · dust storm · storm surge · typhoon · bomb cyclone · dry spell · crop failure · tornado outbreak · thermal stress · coastal flooding · rising seas · hailstorm · atmospheric river · blizzard · microburst · water scarcity
climate extremesmild weather
Moderate atmospheric conditions
temperate climate · moderate climate · moderate temperatures
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