Introduction

You often hear on the radio and TV or in the newspapers that extreme weather events such as floods, storms and typhoons have affected hundreds of people and damaged buildings, water supplies and sanitation facilities. Extreme weather events are expected to increase in the future because of climate change. Knowing what extreme weather events occur can help WASH workers plan and prepare to reduce the impacts.

In this study session you will look at what is meant by the term ‘extreme weather’ and learn about three types of extreme weather event that frequently occur: floods, droughts and heatwaves, and also about wildfires, which are not themselves weather events but are associated with very dry weather. Our focus in this study session is on the impact of these events on the environment and on WASH services.