Continuous changes in global climate are increasing the intensity, frequency, and duration of climate extremes with deep implications for achieving sustainable and just societal development. Given its extensive global coverage and profound interactions with freshwater resources, agriculture is one of the human activities most exposed to climate extremes. Food systems can be directly impacted by extreme climate events (e.g., droughts, floods, and heatwaves). At the same time, climate extremes can exercise substantial influence on water resource availability (e.g., declines in water availability, water pollution) with cascading implications for the productivity and stability of food systems. These consequences are made more complex by growing reliance on food trade and strong water-food-energy interconnections. To fully understand the rising role of climate extremes within water-food systems, new research is needed that provides quantitative approaches to measure the impacts of climate extremes and identifies and tests feasible solutions to mitigate impacts.
In this session, we call for contributions investigating all aspects of interactions between climate extremes and water-food systems, including determining the extent and magnitude of climate extreme impacts on water-food systems, understanding the mechanisms driving the changes of water-food systems under climate extremes, and proposing nature-based or human intervention solutions to mitigate these climate extreme challenges.