Preparing for a New World of Weather and Climate Extremes

Climate change is intensifying extreme weather and climate events, such as the unprecedented heatwave in western North America in 2021 and rainfall from Hurricane Harvey in 2017. These devastating events are becoming more intense globally, but we do not adequately know the changing risks for specific regions and communities, or how changing extremes will affect the wider use of wind, solar, and hydroelectric energy that is needed to limit future greenhouse gas emissions. Our grand challenge will address these key gaps in knowledge by making improvements in the science and prediction of extremes and their effects on our energy systems. Based on the improved predictions of extremes, we will build a scalable toolkit, initially focused on cities in the United States and Africa, for communities and stakeholders to prepare and adapt. Our team brings together experts in climate science, engineering, design, and machine learning at MIT with external partners to provide the greatest benefit to communities, municipalities, and industry.