Heatwaves

Emphasising the often-overlooked deadliness of heatwaves compared to more dramatic extreme events like cyclones and floods, this chapter introduces the concept of the ‘heatwave imperative’ and sets out the reasons why there is an urgent need to address the research and management challenges posed by heatwaves. It also posits that a new type of science, ‘heatwave science’ is required to understand the complex interactions between climatic processes, societal dynamics, and natural systems. The growing trend and impact of heatwave events is highlighted and set in the context of the shifting statistical distribution of global air temperature anomalies, with the increase in extreme heatwave events largely attributed to human induced climate change. The chapter also presents the book’s conceptual framework and describes why the focus is on the here and now of heatwaves as opposed to heatwave futures. The penultimate section of this Chapter outlines the book’s structure which is organised into four parts covering heatwaves as weather and climate phenomenon, the physical causes of heatwaves, the consequences of heatwaves in the form of impacts on human and natural systems and the responses to heatwaves via the development and implementation of adaptation and mitigation options. The Chapter closes by providing reasons why the compound noun ‘heatwave’ is preferred over ‘heat wave’ and used throughout this book.