Showing papers by "Alfonso Mejia published in 2022"

The challenge of unprecedented floods and droughts in risk management

Abstract: Abstract Risk management has reduced vulnerability to floods and droughts globally 1,2 , yet their impacts are still increasing 3 . An improved understanding of the causes of changing impacts is therefore needed, but has been hampered by a lack of empirical data 4,5 . On the basis of a global dataset of 45 pairs of events that occurred within the same area, we show that risk management generally reduces the impacts of floods and droughts but faces difficulties in reducing the impacts of unprecedented events of a magnitude not previously experienced. If the second event was much more hazardous than the first, its impact was almost always higher. This is because management was not designed to deal with such extreme events: for example, they exceeded the design levels of levees and reservoirs. In two success stories, the impact of the second, more hazardous, event was lower, as a result of improved risk management governance and high investment in integrated management. The observed difficulty of managing unprecedented events is alarming, given that more extreme hydrological events are projected owing to climate change 3 .

Climate and hydrological seasonal effects on household water insecurity: A systematic review

Abstract: Household water insecurity (HWI) can have far‐reaching consequences for human health and well‐being, yet little is known about how environmental seasonality contributes to HWI variation. Using a systematic literature review, we examined the following questions: (1) How does environmental seasonality affect HWI? and (2) How do the effects vary over time? We also highlighted strategic areas for future research. We conducted the search using Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, ProQuest, and EBSCO Academic Search Complete, with an end search date of February 3, 2021; only English‐language studies were included. Articles were included in the review if analysis studied seasonal temperature, precipitation, or freshwater variation and individual or household experiences with household water adequacy, water reliability, water affordability, or water safety. Bias was evaluated via hand assessment, and articles of poor quality were excluded. Studies that focused on extreme weather events or water insecurity at community or watershed levels were omitted. We identified 67 articles, the majority of which were cross‐sectional (n = 46, 68.7%). Among longitudinal studies (n = 21, 31.3%), only one used a quantitative HWI scale, while the rest relied on proxies (n = 20, 95.2%). Our review also revealed literature gaps related to unequal coverage of freshwater ecosystem habitat types and forms of environmental seasonality. There is a need for more attention to extreme climate events, such as a prolonged multiyear drought. With changing climate expected to exacerbate weather patterns with serious implications, especially for vulnerable populations, understanding seasonality in HWI is important for crafting sustainable engineering and policy responses to water insecurity.