Extreme Adaptation Research Articles

Extreme Weather, agricultural insurance and farmer's climate adaptation technologies adoption in China

We explore how farmers adjust their climate adaptation behaviors and participation in agricultural insurance in response to extreme weather events. A random effects model is constructed to clarify the relationships between extreme weather events, agricultural insurance and climate adaptation technologies (CAT). Using survey data from 622 farmers in China, Probit models and instrumental variable analysis show that extreme weather events significantly increase farmers' adoption of CAT and their participation in agricultural insurance. Furthermore, agricultural insurance significantly promotes farmers' adoption of CAT. Agricultural insurance influences the adoption of CAT through both substitutive and complementary effects, the complementary effects are more pronounced. Therefore, we recommended the continued promotion of CAT and agricultural insurance to strengthen farmers' resilience to extreme weather events.

Timing is (almost) everything: Real options, extreme value theory, climate adaptation, and flood risk management

Flood risk has become a major concern in many regions due to socio-economic growth and rising water levels. In this paper, we introduce a real options model that integrates the Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale, and Shape framework with Extreme Value Theory to evaluate adaptation measures for flood risk management. Our model allows for uncertain water level rise, climate indices and growing loss exposure. In a case study of flood risk management for New York City, we find that while immediate investment in a barrier and dike project can provide a substantial net present value ($10.96 billion), investing at the optimal time can significantly improve the investment value by 54.84%. Our sensitivity analysis suggests that discount rate is the most important parameter, followed by the mean level of water rise and the water level rise uncertainty. We also find that investment delay is longer when the discount rate or the water level rise uncertainty is higher or when the expected water level rise is lower.

Blinders of extreme heat adaptation: uneven urban development and the reproduction of vulnerabilities

ABSTRACT Despite its deadly nature, extreme heat has received fragmented and scattered responses in cities, often overlooking the crucial social and equity components. Dominant adaptation approaches have paid little attention to chronic socio-economic vulnerabilities to heat stress, resulting in a lack of strategic planning to address them. Building upon critical urban studies and adaptation scholarship, this article examines how the dynamics of urban climate adaptation in the Global North have sidestepped the root causes of heat vulnerability and their (re)production in past, present and future practices of uneven urban development and planning under austerity. We investigate this empirically in attending to the framing of adaptation, the instruments used and the biases they introduce in Montreal (Canada), as well the perception from planners and community groups regarding their agency in responding to extreme heat. We contribute to the literature in analysing how the urban governance of adaptation in urban planning tends to silence the social production of vulnerabilities by three intersecting processes: the biases of instruments used, the unacknowledged legacies of uneven urban development, and the lacking recognition and support for community organisations caring practices.

Investigating the distribution of a unique crustacean microendemic to tree hollows.

Water-filled tree hollows constitute phytotelmata that harbor specialized organisms. One striking example of extreme adaptation to these microhabitats is the case of the microcrustacean Micromoina arboricola, which has been found inhabiting the hollow of a single tree individual in the Atlantic Forest. We investigated the spatial distribution and influence of microhabitat characteristics such as hollow volume and height from the ground in the occurrence of M. arboricola. We surveyed all the trunks present in ca. 5000 m2 of an Atlantic old-growth forest area. We found M. arboricola individuals in 75% of the hollows, thus expanding the known distribution of the species. Spatial analysis suggested a clustered pattern of population densities across hollows, indicating that the dispersal capacity to new microhabitat patches may vary in space. Although we did not find an effect of hollow volume, population density was negatively related to hollow height. This suggests that more restrictive abiotic conditions at greater heights limit the occurrence of the species, emphasizing its vulnerability to environmental changes. Hollow-mediated ecosystem engineering depends on the occasional formation of cavities that require time and ancient trees. Preserving old forests with hollows under varying conditions tends to maintain ecosystem functionality and the conservation of this unique microendemic species.

Bibliometric analysis of climate change and extreme weather adaptation based on Scopus

Bibliometric analysis of climate change and extreme weather adaptation based on Scopus

Land–atmosphere feedbacks weaken the risks of precipitation extremes over Australia in a warming climate

The importance of land–atmosphere feedbacks on regional precipitation changes has been recently noted. However, how land–atmosphere feedbacks shape daily precipitation distributions, particularly the tails of precipitation distributions associated with extreme events, remains unclear on a regional scale. Herein, using the latest land–atmosphere coupling experiments, this study reveals a consistent weakening effect of land–atmosphere feedbacks on the future increase in precipitation extremes over Australia, revealing the most pronounced reduction (56.8%) for the long-term (2080–2099) projection under the low emission (SSP1-2.6) scenario. This weakening effect holds true for shifts in the extreme tail of precipitation distribution, resulting in a reduced risk of precipitation extremes in a warming climate. Land‒atmosphere feedbacks offset 28%–60% of the occurrence risk for the 99th percentile of daily precipitation, with the largest reduction of 172% when precipitation exceeds the 99.7th percentile in the long-term projection under the high emission (SSP5-8.5) scenario. Considering less water replenishment, these feedbacks may reduce the risk of flooding but potentially expedite droughts, highlighting the role of land–atmosphere feedbacks in extreme event projection and regional climate adaptation.

Mapping pedestrian network level outdoor heat hazard distributions in Philadelphia

With the rise of global temperature, many cities are suffering from more and more frequent extreme heat in hot summers. Quantitative information on the spatial distributions of urban heat has become more and more important for extreme heat mitigation and adaptation in cities. This study first investigated the fine-level heat hazard distributions at the sidewalk and building block level from the pedestrian perspective in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The urban microclimate modeling based on a high-resolution urban geometrical model was used to generate the 1m resolution outdoor heat hazard map in the study area. The sidewalk map was overlaid on the generated high-resolution heat hazard map to estimate the sidewalk level heat hazard. Based on the sidewalk level heat hazard map, this study further calculated the heat hazard level in the 400m walkshed along sidewalks for each building block. The building level hazard data were then aggregated at the census tract level to compare with the socioeconomic and racial/ethnic variables. The result shows that neighborhoods with higher proportion of African Americans have a higher heat hazard level in Philadelphia. This study would provide new insights for developing more thermally comfortable and pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods in the context of climate change.

DACA: A domain adaptive fault diagnosis approach with class-aware based on cross-domain extreme imbalance data

Existing research on unsupervised domain adaptation (UDA) has primarily centered on mitigating differences in feature distribution across various domains. However, in real-world scenarios, natural data often exhibits not only a disparity in instance counts across different classes within the same domain but also across different domains, leading to imbalances at both the class and domain levels. To address this issue, this study introduces a novel scenario, termed extreme imbalance domain adaptation (EIDA), which encompasses both covariate shifts and labeling shifts. We propose a Domain Adaptation with Class-aware (DACA) framework for bearing fault diagnosis that aims to tackle inter-domain feature shifts as well as intra- and inter-domain category imbalances. Specifically, DACA enhances the recognition accuracy of minority categories without degrading the performance concerning the majority category, reduces the adverse effects of data imbalance during domain transitions, and strengthens the robustness of decision boundaries for improved spatial matching. This is achieved through four sub-modules: adversarial clustering learning, cross-domain category alignment, category-level reweighting, and category-level re-margining. The efficacy of DACA is demonstrated through simulations of three imbalance protocols in the EIDA scenario across two bearing datasets and one gearbox dataset, showcasing significant advancements in cross-domain diagnostic tasks.

Extreme heat adaptation in urban areas: a comparative case study of New York City and New Orleans

ABSTRACT As the risk of extreme heat in urban centres becomes more frequent and intense, a comparative case study of New York City, New York's and New Orleans, Louisiana's policy responses to dangerous heat highlights past approaches to protecting vulnerable populations, where improvements can be made to best suit local needs, and the areas where solutions may still be implemented. Two cities at the forefront of the climate crisis in the United States, their policy approaches are guided by their histories, their existing adaptations and behaviours, and the harsh reality the changing climate has wrought. New York City has prioritised cooling centres as a safety measure, as the city is regularly seeing hundreds of heat-related deaths per year, often in unairconditioned homes. New Orleans has prioritised the installation of back-up energy generation following mass blackouts caused by Hurricane Ida in 2021 and deaths of at least 10 residents in the resulting excessive heat exposure. In New York, census tracts with the highest percentage of Black, elderly, and foreign-born populations were most likely to have reduced access to a cooling centre. In New Orleans, tracts with the highest percentage of Black, elderly, unemployed, and impoverished populations were most likely to have reduced access to a cooling centre. Comparing both city's codes, regulations, and policies, reviewing their emergency management communication strategies on social media, and performing GIS analysis on cooling centre locations against vulnerability criteria paints a clear picture of where heat policy stands in both cities and where it could potentially expand.

Interaction between acid-tolerant alga Graesiella sp. MA1 and schwertmannite under long-term acidic condition

Schwertmannite (Sch), a typical Fe(III)-oxyhydroxysulphate mineral, is the precipitation reservoir of toxic elements in acid mine drainage (AMD). Acid-tolerant microbes in AMD can participate in the microbe-mediated transformation of Sch, while Sch affects the physiological characteristics of these acid-tolerant microbes. Based on our discovery of algae and Sch enrichment in a contaminated acid mine pit lake, we predicted the interaction between algae and Sch when incubated together. The acid-tolerant alga Graesiella sp. MA1 was isolated from the pit-lake surface water of an acidic mine and incubated with different contents of Sch. Sch was detected as the main product at the end of 81 d; however, there was a weak transformation. The presence of dissolved Fe(II) could be largely attributed to the photoreduction dissolution of Sch, which was promoted by Graesiella sp. MA1. The adaptation and growth phases of Graesiella sp. MA1 differed under Sch stress. The photosynthetic and metabolic activities increased and decreased at the adaptation and growth phases, respectively. The MDA contents and antioxidant activity of SOD, APX, and GSH in algal cells gradually enhanced as the Sch treatment content increased, indicating a defense strategy of Graesiella sp. MA1. Metabolomic analysis revealed that Sch affected the expression of significant differential metabolites in Graesiella sp. MA1. Organic carboxylic acid substances were essentially up-regulated in response to Sch stress. They were abundant in the medium-Sch system with the highest Fe(III) reduction, capable of complexing Fe(III), and underwent photochemical reactions via photo-induced charge transfer. The significant up-regulation of reducing sugars revealed the high energy requirement of Graesiella sp. MA1 under Sch stress. And first enriched KEGG pathway demonstrated the importance of sugar metabolism in Graesiella sp. MA1. Data acquired in this study provide novel insights into extreme acid stress adaptation of acid-tolerant algae and Sch, contributing to furthering understanding of AMD environments.

The enduring nature of cranberry production in a changing climate: The interplay of extreme weather, knowledge networks, and adaptation

Anthropogenic climate change is causing critical issues in agriculture, including cranberry production; however, in a previous study the majority of Massachusetts cranberry growers were less likely to see global warming as a threat than the general US population, and more still reported to be little worried about such warming. This research aims to determine the influence of weather and professional information disseminated to cranberry growers on their climate change adaptation. The authors used a mixed-methods, interdisciplinary approach, including content analysis of around 300 issues of UMass Extension’s Cranberry Station monthly newsletter—a widely trusted source of information in the cranberry grower “network of knowledge”—along with historical weather data from 1974 to 2020, and interview and survey data. Despite infrequent usage of direct communication on climate change and adaptation, UMass Extension’s communication on weather challenges in general showed a small but significant increase when monthly temperature anomalies increased. Meanwhile, anomalous monthly precipitation was negatively associated with total chemical mentions (linked to chemical use behavior). Climate impacts such as increased weeds, water issues (e.g., heavy rainfall, water scarcity), and heat waves ruining harvests were important to growers, leading to the adoption of both conventional (e.g., increased strategic flooding, barge sanding due to lack of ice) and emerging (e.g., smart irrigation, solar panel installations for added income) adaptive strategies. Growers demonstrate climate and technological optimism, believing that other growers are hit worse by climate change than themselves and that cranberry plant resilience, better weather forecasting, and improved irrigation technology will allow them to handle future weather challenges. The prioritization of immediate needs over the more abstract, long-term challenge of climate change by growers and the supporting system underscores the imperative to explore the socio-environmental dynamics that shape their climate responses in cranberry production.

Extreme Temperatures, Adaptation Capacity, and Household Retail Consumption

Extreme Temperatures, Adaptation Capacity, and Household Retail Consumption

Interannual Variation of Half-Hourly Extreme Precipitation in Africa: The Assessment of the Warmest Decade (2011–2020) Since the Beginning of Observations

AbstractAfrica is experiencing widespread extreme precipitation. However, the continent remains understudied regarding extreme precipitation variation, particularly at high temporal resolution. This study assessed the changes in spatial distribution, frequency, and intensity of half-hourly violent precipitation (≥ 50 mm/h) in Africa during 2011–2020. The data were sourced from the Integrated MultisatellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG) program. The results reflect that the 50–60 mm/h precipitation category was the most densely spatially distributed with less-discernable interannual changes. There was a strong interannual variation in the spatial distribution of the 60–70 mm/h and ≥ 70 mm/h precipitation categories. There was a general decrease in the frequency of occurrence of violent precipitation in all regions, except in North Africa (NA). Among the study regions, NA had the broadest precipitation intensity distribution extended to high values and consequently, on average, the most intense violent precipitation, followed by Southern Africa (SA) and Southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO). The regions in the tropics, i.e., West Africa (WA), Central Africa (CA), and East Africa (EA), had a relatively narrow intense violent precipitation distribution. The results further illustrate that the strength of climate variability modes has a strong influence in the distribution, frequency, and intensity of violent precipitation over the continent particularly the ≥ 70 mm/h precipitation category. This study underscores a need for a strengthened capacity in forecasting climate variability modes impacting on Africa, augmentation of continental precipitation observation network, and improved extreme precipitation adaptation infrastructure.

Climate change education through drama and social learning: Playful inquiry for building extreme weather events adaptation scenarios

Considering the projected impacts of climate change in upcoming decades, innovative educational approaches should encourage inventive problem-solving techniques and societal change, fostering transformative climate adaptation. The value of drama in climate adaptation education remains a novel area in the environmental education research literature and requires further exploration of its potential benefits to Climate Change Education (CCE). This article presents a proposal for CCE to include various elements in a drama workshop by evaluating a methodological framework. Participants in the workshop studied the vulnerabilities that arose from flooding and droughts while dramatizing different social conflicts to develop building adaptation scenarios. Through the exploration of problems via playful activities, participants collaboratively construct narratives and texts rich with meaning, based on a critical and creative perception of themes, needs, desires, and overlapping ideologies. This short-term experience manifests efficacy in elucidating the underpinnings of social systems structures, human values, and motivations. This article analyzes workshop results, providing a pedagogical structure and theoretical foundation, contributing to a better comprehension of drama in education and the creation of capacities towards CCE.

Health system adaptations for extreme heat: Protocol for an international scoping review of reviews.

The objective of this study is to map the international evidence for extreme heat related adaptation strategies by health systems, with a particular focus on how heat-vulnerable populations and local situational awareness are considered in these strategies. Since the Paris Climate Accords in 2015, awareness has increased of the health risks posed by extreme heat along with interest in adaptations which aim to reduce heat-health-risks for vulnerable populations. However, the extant literature on these adaptations suggest they are insufficient, and call for research to examine whether, how, and what adaptations for extreme heat are effective as public health interventions. We will include English-language review articles describing and/or evaluating health system adaptations for extreme heat. Health systems will be defined broadly using the WHO Building Blocks model [1] and adaptations will range from the individual level to institutional, regional and national levels, with particular attention to localisation and the protection of vulnerable individuals. A comprehensive literature search of the published literature will be conducted using MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library and Web of Science. Searches will be limited to reviews published since 2015 in the English language. Results will be exported to EndNote for screening (with a sample checked by two reviewers to ensure consistency). A complementary search for related reports by major international agencies (e.g. WHO; International Association of Emergency Managers), as well as local searches for current guidance and case studies, will be conducted in parallel. Data from included papers will be presented in tables with a narrative commentary.

Sea Grant Programs Build Resilience to Coastal Climate Hazards

Sea Grant programs across the United States and its territories are working with coastal communities to enhance their resilience to hazards and weather extremes exacerbated by climate change. Drawing on the expertise of the authors, many of whom have multiple years or decades of experience in the Sea Grant network, the article identifies five key strategies that Sea Grant programs employ to support the process of coastal hazards and extreme weather adaptation and resilience-building. The application of these strategies, most of which have their roots in the historical legacy of extension, are then illustrated through summaries of current Sea Grant activities and projects, showcasing how they have been applied in real-world situations. These strategies allow Sea Grant programs to fill a unique and valuable niche in national efforts to enhance coastal resilience. The article concludes with a discussion of emerging challenges and recommendations for strengthening Sea Grant’s capacity to support adaptation in coastal communities into the future.

Hot Mess: Heatwave Effects on Controlled-release Fertilizer

Controlled-release fertilizers (CRFs) are water-soluble pellets of homo- or heterogenous mineral nutrients covered with polymer or resin that become increasingly porous as temperature increases, releasing water-soluble fertilizer through diffusion. An experiment was carried out at the North Willamette Research and Extension Center located in Aurora, OR, USA (lat. 45°16′51″N, long. 122°45′04″W) with six fertilizer concentrations of a CRF fertilizer that was designed to last 6 to 7 months at 70 °F. During the experiment, the Pacific Northwest experienced a series of early-summer (June) heatwaves that caused an unanticipated and excessive release of mineral salts. Extreme weather adaptation strategies are necessary to sustain horticultural production in a period with increased temperature volatility.

Analysis the characterization of climate change and its impacts on smallholder farmers in Eastern Ethiopia

The impact of climate change on agriculture and food production is manifested through alterations in agro-ecological factors. The region of sub-Saharan Africa is particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change and variability, given its reliance on rainfall-dependent agriculture and inadequate adaptive capabilities. The objective of this study was to analysis of the characterization of climate change and its impacts on smallholder farmers in eastern Ethiopia. Historical daily rainfall, maximum and minimum temperature in 1991–2021 years of 12 weather station were collected from National Meteorological Institute of Ethiopia and NASA/POWER. Data quality control, trend test and outlier detection test were used. Climate characterization (onset, cessation, LGS and Dry/wet spell length) and precipitation concentration index were examined. The earliest, and latest start of rainy season in Kombolcha and Haramaya were 81DOY (March 21) and 225DOY (August 13) within mean 130DOY and 125DOY, respectively. In study area the minimum and maximum length of growing period of was recorded in Chinakesen and Haramaya by the values of 32DOY and 253DOY (Days of the year) respectively. In this arid and semi-arid areas, growing period was recorded under the short season crop maturity while long cropping season maturity does no satisfy crop water requirement due to moisture stress. The coefficient of variation of length of growing season from Mieso and Chinakesen were 36.2% and 47.9% which implies that the areas were highly vulnerable to climate extreme events of drought. Length of growing season (LGS) of Gemechis district was decreasing by a factor −2.533 shows highly significant at alpha value of 0.05 confidence level. Dry spell length probability occurrence of 5 days during the main cropping rainy season is significantly very high. The 30 years of data record suggests that a 29–48% precipitation concentration index of kiremt (JJAS) and belg (FMAM) seasonal rainfall which are demonstrating irregular precipitation. kiremt (JJAS) rainfall trend tests of Babile, Kurfa chale and Mieso districts were increasing by a factor of 2.016, 2.043 and 2.117, respectively and statistically significant at 95% confidence level, in the time period of 1991–2021 years. If furtherstudy will be examined climate extreme indices and adaptation strategies designed to simulate the impacts and variability of climate change in the study area.

Responses to arsenic stress by the Andean benthic-extremophile cyanobacteria Rivularia halophila

Microorganisms living in naturally arsenic (As)-enriched environments exposed to extreme conditions play an active role in As mobility by influencing chemical speciation or inducing dissolution of As-bearing phases. In this work, the cyanobacterium Rivularia halophila was evaluated in its capability to tolerate, accumulate and biotransform As species. R. halophila was isolated from a hypersaline and high-altitude Andean Lake characterized by high geogenic As content in the sediments and water. Cultures of R. halophila were exposed to concentrations of As(V) and As(III) up to 15,000 and 200 ppm, respectively. Results showed that R. halophila effectively tolerated high As doses (IC50: 8500 and 70 ppm for As(V) and As(III) respectively), responding with a gradual decrease in growth and chlorophyll content. Cell damage and reactive oxygen species (ROS) only significantly increased at 5000 ppm of As(V) and 20 ppm of As(III), demonstrating an extreme adaptation to both As species. Moreover, As accumulation was significantly higher in As(III) treatment (i.e., 9.500 ppm) than in As(V) (i.e., 480 ppm). The main representative As-bearing phases in the biomass fractions were determined using micro-focused X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Three main As-bearing phases were identified: arsenate, arsenite and As(III)-S (mostly associated with sulfur). The redox evolution of As-bearing phases in the biomass fractions, coupled with increase of bulk As content and ROS activity, suggest that active bioaccumulation and transformation of As by R halophila occurs during environmental stress conditions.

Extreme environmental adaptation mechanisms of Antarctic bryophytes are mainly the activation of antioxidants, secondary metabolites and photosynthetic pathways

The environment in Antarctica is characterized by low temperature, intense UVB and few vegetation types. The Pohlia nutans M211 are bryophytes, which are the primary plants in Antarctica and can thrive well in the Antarctic harsh environment. The transcriptional profiling of Pohlia nutans M211 under low temperature and high UVB conditions was analyzed to explore their polar adaptation mechanism in the extreme Antarctic environment by third-generation sequencing and second-generation sequencing. In comparison to earlier second-generation sequencing techniques, a total of 43,101 non-redundant transcripts and 10,532 lncRNA transcripts were obtained, which were longer and more accurate. The analysis results of GO, KEGG, AS (alternative splicing), and WGCNA (weighted gene co-expression network analysis) of DEGs (differentially expressed genes), combined with the biochemical kits revealed that antioxidant, secondary metabolites pathways and photosynthesis were the key adaptive pathways for Pohlia nutans M211 to the Antarctic extreme environment. Furthermore, the low temperature and strong UVB are closely linked for the first time by the gene HY5 (hlongated hypocotyl 5) to form a protein interaction network through the PPI (protein–protein interaction networks) analysis method. The UVR8 module, photosynthetic module, secondary metabolites synthesis module, and temperature response module were the key components of the PPI network. In conclusion, this study will help to further explore the polar adaptation mechanism of Antarctic plants represented by bryophytes and to enrich the polar gene resources.