Walking the Walk or Just Talking the Talk? Corporate Climate Strategies Under Extreme Weather

The increasing intensity and frequency of extreme weather events resulting from climate change have led to grid outages and other negative consequences. To ensure the resilience of buildings which serve as primary shelters for occupants, resilient strategies are being developed to improve their ability to withstand these extreme events (e.g., building upgrades and renewable energy generators and storage). However, a crucial step towards creating a resilient built environment is accurately estimating building performance during such conditions using historical extreme climate change-induced weather events. To conduct Building Performance Simulation (BPS) in extreme conditions, such as weather events induced by climate change, it is essential to utilize Actual Meteorological Year (AMY) weather files instead of Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) files. AMY files capture the precise climatic conditions during extreme weather events, enabling accurate simulation of such scenarios. These weather files provide valuable data that can be used to assess the vulnerabilities and resilience of buildings to extreme weather events. By analyzing past events and their impacts using BPS tools, we can gain insights into the specific weaknesses and areas that require improvement. This approach applies to both existing buildings needing climate change-resilient retrofits and new building designs that must be compatible with future climatic conditions. Moreover, the intensification and frequency increase of these extreme weather events makes developing adaptation and resilient-building measures imperative. This involves understanding the potential losses that households may experience due to the intensification of extreme events and developing farsighted coping strategies and climate-proof resilient-building initiatives. However, addressing the knowledge gap caused by the absence of an AMY weather file dataset of extreme events is essential. This will allow for accurate BPS during past extreme climate change-induced weather events. To fill this gap, this article introduces a comprehensive .epw format weather file dataset focusing on historical extreme weather events in Canada. This collection encompasses a diverse array of past extreme climate change occurrences in various locations, with potential for future expansion to include additional locations and countries. This dataset enables energy simulations for different types of buildings and considers a diverse range of historical weather conditions, allowing for better estimation of thermal performance.

Climatic changes lead to many extreme weather events throughout the globe. These extreme weather events influence our behavior, exposing us to different environmental conditions, such as poor indoor quality. Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) poses a significant concern in the modern era, as people spend up to 90% of their time indoors. Ventilation influences key IAQ elements such as temperature, relative humidity, and particulate matter (PM). Children, considered a vulnerable group, spend approximately 30% of their time in educational settings, often housed in old structures with poorly maintained ventilation systems. Extreme weather events lead young students to stay indoors, usually behind closed doors and windows, which may lead to exposure to elevated levels of air pollutants. In our research, we aim to demonstrate how real-time monitoring of air pollutants and other environmental parameters under extreme weather is important for regulating the indoor environment. A study was conducted in a school building with limited ventilation located in an arid region near the Red Sea, which frequently suffers from high PM concentrations. In this study, we tracked the indoor environmental conditions and air quality during the entire month of May 2022, including an extreme outdoor weather event of sandstorms. During this month, we continuously monitored four classrooms in an elementary school built in 1967 in Eilat. Our findings indicate that PM2.5 was higher indoors (statistically significant) by more than 16% during the extreme event. Temperature was also elevated indoors (statistically significant) by more than 5%. The parameters’ deviation highlights the need for better indoor weather control and ventilation systems, as well as ongoing monitoring in schools to maintain healthy indoor air quality. This also warrants us as we are approaching an era of climatic instability, including higher occurrence of similar extreme events, which urge us to develop real-time responses in urban areas.

Global climate change is expected to affect the frequency, intensity and duration of extreme water-related weather events such as excessive precipitation, floods, and drought. We conducted a systematic review to examine waterborne outbreaks following such events and explored their distribution between the different types of extreme water-related weather events. Four medical and meteorological databases (Medline, Embase, GeoRef, PubMed) and a global electronic reporting system (ProMED) were searched, from 1910 to 2010. Eighty-seven waterborne outbreaks involving extreme water-related weather events were identified and included, alongside 235 ProMED reports. Heavy rainfall and flooding were the most common events preceding outbreaks associated with extreme weather and were reported in 55·2% and 52·9% of accounts, respectively. The most common pathogens reported in these outbreaks were Vibrio spp. (21·6%) and Leptospira spp. (12·7%). Outbreaks following extreme water-related weather events were often the result of contamination of the drinking-water supply (53·7%). Differences in reporting of outbreaks were seen between the scientific literature and ProMED. Extreme water-related weather events represent a risk to public health in both developed and developing countries, but impact will be disproportionate and likely to compound existing health disparities.

Extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and intensity as a result of modern climate change. During winter, species may be especially vulnerable to extreme weather as they are surviving on scarce resources and living at the edge of their thermal limits. We compiled data from eBird, a global citizen science initiative, to examine how 41 eastern North American birds shifted their occurrence and abundance patterns immediately following two recent extreme weather events each affecting > 2 million km 2 , the intrusion of a polar vortex and a winter heat wave. eBird data is continuously collected at high spatiotemporal resolution across large spatial extents, allowing us to compare species' responses immediately before and after these extreme events with trends in other winters across geographic scales. Overall, we found that birds responded differently to each extreme weather event. Bird occurrence rates did not change following the polar vortex, but where species occurred, population density was temporarily reduced, suggesting reductions in number of individuals driven by decreases in behavioral activity or temporary movement out of the area. However, birds demonstrated widespread increases in occurrence and increases in density and number of individuals where they occurred for at least 20 days after the heat wave, hinting at longer‐term range changes. Smaller‐bodied, warm‐adapted passerines tended to be most sensitive to extreme weather and responded most negatively to the polar vortex and most positively to the heat wave, while larger‐bodied, cold‐adapted waterbirds expressed only mild responses to either event. Thus, certain species may be exceptionally sensitive to extreme weather events while others are less sensitive. As climate change progresses and climatic variability increases, researchers and managers must better quantify the broad‐scale sensitivity of different species to multiple types of extreme weather events.

BACKGROUND: Island communities such as Puerto Rico (PR) are profoundly impacted by climate extremes. Patients with chronic disease, particularly cancer, have unique needs and challenges in the aftermath of extreme weather events. Understanding cancer patients’ barriers, knowledge, risks, and vulnerabilities are essential to develop equitable adaptation strategies. This research aims to investigate the perceptions and experiences of cancer patients associated with extreme weather events over the past 10 years in Puerto Rico (PR). METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study via survey questionnaires (April 22, 2023-June 8, 2023) among adults aged ≥21 years from Puerto Rico who are cancer patients/survivors (n=207). A total of 23 questions listed on the survey were used to collect information on variables of interest which included demographic characteristics, information on extreme weather event experiences, and attitude towards climate change. Using the data collected, descriptive statistics were used to describe the study population and multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations of interest (IRB approval # 2023-04-101). RESULTS: The average age of individuals recruited is 56.3 years ±13.5 SD, 79.7% are female, 65.2% reported having additional chronic diseases, and 85.0% have more than a high-school education. Regarding extreme weather events, 99% of cancer patients and survivors reported floods, including coastal, fluvial, and urban floods, impacted their communities, 76% reported tropical cyclones impacted their residences and communities, and 72% reported extreme heat impacted both their residences and communities in the last 10 years. Additionally, the most common problems encountered in the aftermath of these extreme weather events were water (88.4%) and electricity service interruption (91.4%), as well as water (88.9%) and electricity service interruption (77.1%). Most participants reported feeling very and extremely worried about their health in the face of climate change (75.0%) and feeling concerned about climate change (85.0%). After adjusting for age, sex, and education, logistic regression models showed that participants with more than one cancer type were more likely to be worried about their health in the face of climate change (OR=2.40,95% CI=1.06-5.35). CONCLUSION: Study findings highlight the burden of extreme weather events and the problems encountered in the aftermath of such events on cancer patients in Puerto Rico. This population expresses concern and worry about climate change and their health, respectively. This information is important for cancer control and emphasizes the need for targeted interventions and management strategies to remove detrimental and avoidable impacts on cancer populations. Citation Format: Jimena Perez, Pablo A. Méndez-Lázaro, Fabiola A. Rivera-Gastón, Ana P. Ortiz. Assessing the impact of extreme climate weather events on cancer patients in Puerto Rico: A cross-sectional study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 16th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2023 Sep 29-Oct 2;Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2023;32(12 Suppl):Abstract nr A114.

Extreme heat and environmental disasters pose significant threats to canine health and welfare. With climate change intensifying these hazards and approximately 59.9 million U.S. households owning dogs, understanding owner perceptions and behaviors regarding heat-related illness (HRI) and disaster preparedness is crucial. This study investigated U.S. dog owners’ knowledge of HRI risk factors, their preventative measures, and emergency preparedness for extreme weather events. We conducted an anonymous online survey in April 2025 with 421 U.S. dog owners to assess their outdoor activity practices, HRI knowledge, extreme weather preparedness, and information-seeking behaviors. Despite 93.3% of participants living in areas with summer temperatures regularly exceeding 80°F, many did not significantly modify their dogs’ outdoor activities during hot weather. Only 40.3% reported shortening walks “a little bit” during summer months, with no significant differences based on whether owners had brachycephalic dogs. Knowledge of HRI signs was variable—85.7% recognized slowness/stiffness as a symptom, but only 63.9% identified depression/slow response as a concern. While most participants (92.9%) knew to immediately move overheated dogs to cool areas, fewer recognized optimal cooling methods such as cold-water immersion and water sprays. The majority (83.0%) indicated they would not evacuate during extreme weather events if unable to bring their dog, with younger (18–40 years) and middle-income (US$50,000–89,000) participants significantly more likely to make this decision. While 77.9% reported having transportation plans for their dogs in evacuation scenarios, only 46.3% had disaster kits prepared. Multiple regression analysis revealed that higher education levels (p<.001), younger age (p < 0.001), and previous extreme weather experience (p = 0.014) predicted better emergency preparedness. These findings reveal concerning gaps in dog owners’ understanding of HRI risks, particularly for vulnerable dogs (e.g., brachycephalic, senior, overweight). The study also identifies a critical need for improved disaster preparedness and education about effective cooling methods. These results highlight significant opportunities for veterinary professionals and communities to address knowledge gaps regarding HRI prevention and extreme weather preparedness through targeted owner education. This approach may potentially reduce evacuation failures and improve outcomes during increasingly common climate-related emergencies, ultimately allowing dog owners to make educated decisions that protect their dogs’ welfare.

Climate change is altering the severity and intensity of extreme weather events. Occupying microhabitats that buffer extreme weather may help species avoid harsh environmental conditions. We describe the thermal microclimate of Atlantic Puffin ( Fratercula arctica) and Leach’s Storm-petrel ( Hydrobates leucorhous) burrows and quantify whether burrows are thermal refuges during extreme cold weather events. We further test for the effect of weather conditions and burrow characteristics on nest microclimate and buffering capacity during extreme cold weather. We find that both species actively breed in burrow microclimates that are below their lower critical temperatures, which may impose significant thermoregulatory costs. However, burrows do act as thermal refuges because nests are kept 7.4–8.0 °C warmer than ambient temperatures during extreme cold weather events. Overall, external temperature and wind speed were strong drivers of burrow temperature, but burrow and habitat characteristics did not explain the variability in burrow buffering capacity during extreme cold weather. Our results suggest that burrows may provide a direct line of defence for seabird chicks against cold events. Given the complex responses of burrow microclimates to extreme events, quantifying how changes in environmental conditions will impact burrow-nesting seabirds in the future is key.

Extreme weather events are expected to increase in frequency and severity due to climate change. However, we lack an understanding of how recent extreme weather events have impacted the U.S. population. We surveyed a representative sample of the U.S. public (n = 1071) in September 2021 about self-reported impacts they experienced from six types of extreme weather events within the past three years. We find that an overwhelming majority (86%) of the U.S. public reported being at least slightly impacted by an extreme weather event, and one-third (34%) reported being either very or extremely impacted by one or more types of extreme weather events. We clustered respondents into four impact groups, representing a composite of self-reported impacts from multiple types of extreme weather events. Respondents in the highest extreme weather impact group are more than 2.5 times as likely to identify as Black or Hispanic and 1.89 times more likely to live in a household with income levels below the Federal poverty level. We also observe reports of higher extreme weather impacts from respondents who are female, do not have a bachelor’s degree and live in a rural area. Our results indicate that extreme weather impacts are being felt by a broad cross-section of the U.S. public, with the highest impacts being disproportionately reported by populations that have previously been found to be more vulnerable to natural disasters and other extreme events.

Background Weather and changing climate are key drivers of the emergence, re-emergence and spread of infectious diseases globally. However, approaches to emerging infections and climate strategies are still largely being developed separately missing the opportunities for integrated climate adaptation actions to address infectious diseases. Description To inform the development of the UK national emerging infectious diseases plan, a literature review of the current and projected risks from extreme weather events and climate change on emerging infections in the UK is currently underway. This will support further work examining and co-designing adaptation options in the context of preparedness and response to emerging infections. Results Key preliminary findings from the literature review have indicated risks predominantly from evolving patterns of vector borne diseases as climatic conditions and habitat suitability of pathogens change. Changing temperatures and hotter summer temperatures have been associated with changing food-borne infection patterns. Further risks driven by extreme weather, including flooding and droughts, could perpetuate changes in water-borne infection patterns. Adaptation actions focussed on these infectious disease groups are currently under review and will cover risk assessment, data and surveillance, preparedness and response. Lessons This work integrates climate action with action on emerging infectious diseases. By examining the evidence on climate sensitive infections and co-designing solutions across teams, awareness is being raised and relationships and infrastructures built to better prepare and respond to both fundamental global public health challenges.

The intensity and occurrence of extreme weather events are expected to change with climate change. This change necessitates adaptive responses to extreme events, which need to take into account different societal perspectives, in order to be robust. In this paper, we explore the perspectives of different social actors in the Netherlands with respect to extreme weather events and ways to adapt to these events. The paper reports on a set of 41 interviews, using the repertory grid technique. The results were analyzed, to identify (a) the perspectives that stakeholders hold as most important for adaptation to extreme weather events; (b) the determinants of differences in perspectives. We find six different perspectives, all of which prioritize different adaptive actions. Producing robust adaptive responses which include different perspectives is therefore not a straightforward matter and is likely to result in win-lose situations. Further, differences in perspectives were not closely related to different sectors the interviewees belonged to. Thus, the traditional approach of involving different sectors to discuss and produce adaptation measures may be too limiting and needs to be supplemented to involving actors with different perspectives. The level of concern and level of information influenced the ways interviewees perceive adaptation priorities for extreme weather events. Participation in information events does not always result in perceived need to prepare for extreme events, something that adaptation communication needs to take into account. © 2013 The Author(s).

In recent years, extreme weather events have led to more frequent coverage of climate change in many media outlets than it was previously the case. They are seen as chance for making climate change tangible and visible to the public, potentially catalyzing action across all levels of society. However, the reporting of such events also poses risks, for example the skewed emphasis on consequences over causes and solutions. The coverage of extreme weather events also carries the risk that media attention towards climate change fades away immediately once the event is over.Previous research demonstrates that individuals' experiences of weather indeed serve as a 'sense-making device' for climate change (i.e., "You can see from the many warm winters that climate change exists"). Personal weather experiences are interpreted within the framework of existing attitudes towards climate change and have intersections and overlay-effects with media experiences ('media frames’). For example, the more an extreme weather event is discussed in context of climate change – especially within socially-relevant groups – the more it can affect climate change awareness. The state of research stresses the important role of weather forecasting in bridging the distance towards the issue and demonstrating the personal and local relevance. In this talk, the research question is addressed how TV coverage of extreme weather events in the year 2022 was perceived by audiences. How did it effect the audiences’ climate change awareness?To answer the research question, an empirical study about German TV-audiences, which was conducted in October 2022. It includes a series of focus group discussions (n=42, period 26.-29.02.2022), and an online-survey ((n=1.145, October 2022), representative for Germany, and with a focus on extreme weather events. The results underline that personal experiences of such extreme events and media representations play pivotal roles in shaping individuals' perceptions of climate change. Approximately 50% of respondents reported a shift in their perception of climate change following the extreme weather events in summer 2022, with 37% attributing this change to media coverage. Through exploratory factor analysis, it becomes evident that media coverage of extreme weather reduces the perceived distance to the issue on multiple dimensions. Moreover, there exists a significant correlation between the perceived influence of media coverage and personal experiences of extreme weather events, suggesting a mutually reinforcing relationship between own observation and media portrayal. This reciprocal influence extends beyond mere perception, with media coverage of extreme weather events impacting individuals on multiple levels. The reporting of such events intensifies the immediacy of climate change, making it feel more tangible and immediate in people's lives and those of their closest social circles. Additionally, it heightens the perceived likelihood of climate-related occurrences and accelerates the perceived proximity of their consequences. These findings underscore the profound impact of media narratives in bringing the issue of climate change closer to individuals' lived experiences.

Overshooting top (OT) in convective clouds is an essential feature in extreme weather nowcasting performed by weather forecasters to represent the core location of the severe region of the convective cloud. In addition, we can estimate the location of extreme weather events by utilising OT climatology. Unfortunately, it cannot be realised in tropical Indonesia, especially on Java Island at present, because there still needs to be more research on the presence of OT in extreme weather events. This research aims to study the presence of OT in extreme weather events on Java Island using extreme weather reports and the Himawari 8 satellite data. We detect the presence or absence of OT patterns at the location of the extreme weather event with Visual identification by using a visible channel (0.64 μm) with a spatial resolution of 500 m and sandwich products. We found that about 87% of extreme weather occurred accompanied by the appearance of OT patterns from convective clouds. A parallax effect of Himawari 8 caused the detected OT location in the southwest direction of the actual location. Extreme weather events accompanied by the OT feature of convective clouds most often occur in the transitional period of the rainy to dry season (MAM) and the rainy season (DJF). Meanwhile, extreme weather events rarely occur during the dry season (JJA). Extreme weather events accompanied by OT often occur from midday to late afternoon. OT in this study has a diameter between 2-15 km during extreme weather events. A time lag between the appearance of OT and extreme weather events in Java Island gives us opportunities for approximating and nowcasting the extreme weather events.

People experiencing poverty and inequality will be affected first and worst by the impacts of climate change to infrastructure and human settlements, including those caused by increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events and natural disasters. They have the least capacity to cope, to adapt, to move and to recover. Community service organisations (CSOs) play a critical role in supporting individuals, families and communities experiencing poverty and inequality to build resilience and respond to adverse changes in circumstances. As such, the services they provide comprise a critical component of social infrastructure in human settlements. However, very little is understood about CSOs own vulnerability to – or their role in managing and mitigating risks to their clients and the community from – climate change impacts to physical infrastructure. The Extreme Weather, Climate Change and the Community Sector – Risks and Adaptations project examined the relationship between physical and social infrastructure (in the form of CSO service provision). Specifically, the ways in which the climate-driven failure of CSO service delivery worsens risks to the individuals and communities they serve and, on the other hand, how preparedness may reduce vulnerability to climate change and extreme weather impacts to human settlements and infrastructure. The research comprised a comprehensive and critical scoping, examination and review of existing research findings and an audit, examination and judgment-based evaluation of the current vulnerabilities and capacities of CSOs under projected climate change scenarios. It employed three key methods of consultation and data collection. A literature review examined research conducted to date in Australia and comparative countries internationally on the vulnerability and climate change adaptation needs of CSOs. A program of 10 Community Sector Professional Climate Workshops consulted over 150 CSO representatives to develop a qualitative record of extreme event and climate change risks and corresponding adaptation strategies specific to CSOs. A national survey of CSOs, which resulted in the participation of approximately 500 organisations, produced a quantitative data set about the nature of CSO vulnerability to climate change and extreme weather impacts to infrastructure, whether and how CSOs are approaching the adaptation task and key barriers to adaptation. While the methods employed and the absence of empirical data sets quantifying CSO vulnerability to climate change impacts create limitations to the evidence-base produced, findings from the research suggest that CSOs are highly vulnerable and not well prepared to respond to climate change and extreme weather impacts to physical infrastructure and that this underlying organisational vulnerability worsens the vulnerability of people experiencing poverty and inequality to climate change. However, the project results indicate that if well adapted, CSOs have the willingness, specialist skills, assets and capacity to make a major contribution to the resilience and adaptive capacity of their clients and the community more broadly (sections of which will be plunged into adversity by extreme events). Despite this willingness, the evidence presented shows that few CSOs have undertaken significant action to prepare for climate change and worsening extreme weather events. Key barriers to adaptation identified through the research are inadequate financial resources, lack of institutionalised knowledge and skills for adaptation and the belief that climate change adaptation is beyond the scope of CSOs core business. On the other hand, key indicators of organisational resilience to climate change and extreme weather impacts include: level of knowledge about extreme weather risks, past experience of an extreme weather event and organisational size. Given its size, scope and the critical role the Australian community sector plays in building client and community resilience and in assisting communities to respond to and recover from the devastating impacts of extreme weather events and natural disasters, the research identifies serious gaps in both the policy frameworks and the research base required to ensure the sector’s resilience and adaptive capacity – gaps which appear to have already had serious consequences. To address these gaps, a series of recommendations has been prepared to enable the development and implementation of a comprehensive, sector-specific adaptation and preparedness program, which includes mechanisms to institutionalise knowledge and skills, streamlined tools appropriate to the needs and capacity of a diverse range of organisations and a benchmarking system to allow progress towards resilience and preparedness to be monitored. Future research priorities for adaptation in this sector have also been identified.

This paper examines the extent of resource adequacy and the North American Bulk Power System's resilience to extreme weather events. Observations and lessons learned from the 2014 polar vortex event provide valuable insight to NERC's assessment of the upcoming and future winter seasons. In order to gain a better understanding of how extreme weather events can impact reliability in future winter seasons, NERC conducted extreme weather scenarios based on the conditions observed during the 2014 polar vortex. The scenarios were performed for most impacted areas; Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), PJM Interconnection, SERC-East, and the Texas Reliability Entity -Electric Reliability Council of Texas (TRE-ERCOT). The findings from the scenario analysis show that existing resources can meet the extreme-case demand. However, Planning Reserve Margins (PRM) decrease significantly from the reference case. The results help provide additional perspective on how sensitive demand and generation are to extreme weather.

In the last decade, the WHO European Region has been struck by various extreme weather events. The dramatic political, social, environmental and health consequences have stimulated debate on whether appropriate action can prevent the health effects of such extreme weather events. Based on our knowledge of climate change, more extreme weather and climate events will occur in the coming years, and they are likely to be more severe. International collaboration is needed to evaluate and target actions better. Many lessons have been learned from early warning and information systems. In preparation for the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health in Budapest in 2004, the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health of the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the European Environment Agency (EEA) organized a meeting entitled “Extreme weather events and public health responses” in Bratislava, Slovakia, on 9–10 February 2004 to exchange information regarding the 2002 floodings and the 2003 heat waves as well as to develop recommendations on public health and environmental responses to climate extremes. This paper reviews the contributions from the Bratislava meeting and summarizes the policy recommendations that were developed in a working document for the Fourth Ministerial Conference. Climate variability and extremes are discussed, as are country case studies and experience with floods, heat and cold waves in various European countries; some of the lessons learned are summarized in response to extreme events.