A 'whiplash' of extreme climate pressures has had a devastating effect on communities around the world since the turn of the century, new research has found.
The team, led by researchers at Cardiff University and the University of Bristol and commissioned by WaterAid, examined the frequency and magnitude of flooding and drought hazards over the last 41 years in Pakistan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mozambique, adding Italy for a European comparison to show the impacts of climate change do not discriminate by region.
Their findings, which combine satellite imagery with climate data, reveal a 'climate hazard flip' - with areas that used to experience frequent droughts now more prone to flooding, while other regions historically vulnerable to flooding now enduring more droughts.
These communities are often ill-equipped to deal with such extremes in weather which can wipe out crops and livelihoods, damage often-fragile water supply infrastructure, disrupt water supply services, and expose people to disease and death.
Professor Michael Singer of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Cardiff University and co-lead researcher on the project also warns that these climatic phenomena are not just confined to the countries studied.
He said: "Most dramatically, we found that many locations are undergoing major shifts in the prevailing climate. Specifically, many of our study sites have experienced a hazard flip from being drought-prone to flood-prone or vice versa.
