Compound heatwaves and extreme precipitation events: analysis and vulnerability assessment

Heatwave and extreme precipitation events have severe socio-economical impacts. The co-occurrence of these two events can exacerbate the effects but their mechanisms and underlying causes remain understudied. This thesis uses ERA5 and three models to analyzes the compound event on a global scale, and finds an inter-relation between the heatwaves and extreme precipitations in all geographies. It highlights areas more prone to the event, such us North East Asia, North East North America and Central Africa, and through a preliminary vulnerability analysis, it delineate high population exposure hotspots. After assessing the compound event in historical data, future perspectives are analyzed through CanESM5, using four different adaptation assumptions. All four cases highlight changes in the frequency of the compound event and alterations in the co-occurrence of heatwaves and extreme precipitation events in most regions, but with altering magnitudes. This shows the need for adaptation to new temperature and precipitation distributions to mitigate the effects of climate change. As different areas, face the compound event with different intensities and frequencies, the necessity for tailored regional adaptation strategies is of paramount importance to face the effects of the compound events both in the present and future.