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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Damian Carrington Environment editor

Climate ‘whiplash’ events increasing exponentially around world

A firefighter monitors the spread of the Auto Fire in Oxnard, North West of Los Angeles, California
Climate ‘whiplash’ – rapid swing between very wet or dry conditions – spurred the catastrophic fires in Los Angeles. Photograph: Étienne Laurent/AFP/Getty Images

Climate “whiplash” between extremely wet and dry conditions, which spurred catastrophic fires in Los Angeles, is increasing exponentially around the world because of global heating, analysis has found.

Climate whiplash is a rapid swing between very wet or dry conditions and can cause far more harm to people than individual extreme events alone. In recent years, whiplash events have been linked to disastrous floods in east Africa, Pakistan and Australia and to worsening heatwaves in Europe and China.

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