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Climate Extremes in a Warming World

ABOUT THE LAB

The Climate Extremes Lab at Washington State University aims to advance the scientific understanding of extreme weather events that affect communities around the world and how such extremes are affected by the warming our planet is experiencing. Our current focus is on understanding the combination of physical factors that affect heat extremes (hot and cold), drought, heavy precipitation, wildfires, and dry lightning and their impacts on food security, air pollution, human migration, and energy production. In recent years, communities are experiencing multiple such climate hazards either simultaneously or back-to-back and multiple regions are experiencing simultaneous hazards that have compounding and cascading impacts on disaster aid resources, reinsurance industries, supply chains and other interconnected systems. We employ a variety of tools including ground and satellite-based observations, global climate models, household surveys, and socio-economic data in our research. The overall goal of our work is to understand how the risk of these hazards changes from year-to-year and over longer timescales to inform their predictability, societal preparedness and adaptation efforts that could minimize the impacts of such hazards on frontline communities in a changing climate.

Research

We study climate change and climate variability in different regions, with a particular focus on timescales and events that impact agriculture and human health. Following are summaries of our ongoing research projects.

TEMPERATURE EXTREMES

Recent record-breaking heat in the Pacific Northwest, Europe, South Asia and China have cost numerous lives, damaged infrastructure and adversely impacted agriculture and ecosystems. Despite being one of the most widely studied climate hazards, recent heat waves have underscored the complexity of physical factors that contribute to such extremes and raised new scientific questions. Further, the role of humidity in shaping extreme heat impacts is also being increasingly recognized. Our NSF-supported research investigates the spatial and temporal characteristics of heat extremes and the influence of natural climate variability on their characteristics. We recently published the first high-resolution, global characterization of the frequency, timing and severity of humid-heat extremes, which we use to understand impacts on agriculture and the health of agricultural workers. We also study concurrent heatwaves - large, simultaneously occurring heat waves across multiple regions in the Northern Hemisphere and recently found that concurrent large heatwaves in the Northern Hemisphere have become 6 times more frequent over the past 4 decades, affecting steadily larger regions with increasing severity. We are currently examining the drivers and characteristics of widespread heatwaves and cold waves in the US and their impacts on the US energy grid.

DROUGHTS

Droughts can have a range of acute and long-term impacts on human and natural systems including negatively affecting water availability and agricultural production that are critical for the production and consumption of food and the overall health of communities. The historian Mike Davis documented the immense human toll of simultaneous droughts across parts of Asia, Africa and Brazil in the late 19th century in their book Late Victorian Holocausts and the longer-lasting impacts on the creation of a world with massive socioeconomic inequities. Motivated by this work, our research explores the physical drivers of such events in current and warmer climates. Our work revealed that these severe, prolonged droughts in the 1870’s resulted from an unprecedented combination of ocean conditions in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Examining all such concurrent events in the observed record, we found that while El Niño has the largest influence on concurrent droughts, co-occurrence with natural climate oscillations in other basins result in more widespread and intense concurrent droughts. In a warmer climate, strong El Niño events are projected to become more frequent and combined with the drying effect of a warming climate, they are more likely to produce concurrent droughts, resulting in more frequent and severe concurrent droughts that expose nearly 10 times more people and agricultural areas than in the present climate. Our future work will evaluate the consequences of concurrent droughts on the global food networks.

WILDFIRE DRIVERS AND IMPACTS

The western United States is experiencing larger and more severe wildfires as the climate continues to warm. “Dry” lightning - or lightning occurring with little or no rainfall - ignites many wildfires across this region during the summer since vegetation is usually dry. The combination of drought, heat, and lightning affected California in dramatic fashion during the summer of 2020, when large lightning storms started hundreds of wildfires that burned 2.5 million acres, destroyed numerous homes, and cost 23 human lives. Despite these potentially outsized impacts, the phenomenon of dry lightning has not been extensively studied. Through a NASA-funded project, we aim to investigate the meteorological drivers of dry lightning, the biophysical factors affecting lightning-caused wildfire ignition, and future projections of lightning-caused wildfire risk across the western U.S. in climate models. We recently published the first comprehensive climatology of dry lightning outbreaks in central and northern California, and showed that these outbreaks are caused by four different types of large-scale meteorological patterns each with different spatial patterns of lightning risk - providing useful information for operational forecasting and climate model projections of lightning-caused fires. We are also interested in understanding the impacts of wildfires on air quality and hydrologic hazards. We recently published a study that demonstrates that wildfire smoke and heat are contributing to increases in widespread co-occurrences of multiple harmful air pollutants - particulate matter and surface ozone - over the last two decades. We are currently studying the atmospheric and vegetation conditions that affect lightning-caused wildfire ignitions across the western U.S.

SOUTH ASIAN MONSOONS

The South Asian summer monsoon is the predominant source of rainfall for the Indian subcontinent, where nearly 1.8 billion people depend on reliable monsoonal rains for their water resources and food production. A growing portion of the region’s population live below the poverty line and are undernourished, making the region particularly vulnerable to climate variability and change. Nearly every monsoon season in recent years, parts of South Asia have experienced damaging flooding with impacts ranging from immediate loss of lives to the spread of deadly diseases, infrastructure damage, and agricultural losses that have lasting impacts on the food security of communities. Our research focuses on assessing how precipitation patterns associated with the South Asian Monsoons are changing and why. We have shown that extreme rainfall events have become more frequent and intense in parts of the region but there is substantial heterogeneity in observed changes. These observed rainfall changes are shaped by a combination of natural climate variability and multiple human activities including global greenhouse gasses, anthropogenic aerosols (from fossil-fuel and biomass burning), and regional land-surface changes (driven by industrialization and agricultural expansion and intensification). All these factors are going to continue to be important influences on the South Asian monsoon and our work aims to understand their individual and combined influence on the historical and projected trajectory of the monsoons.

CLIMATE IMPACTS ON AGRICULTURE

Suitable climate conditions are critical for crop growth and some crops are highly sensitive to the exceedance of climate thresholds. The recent occurrence of extremes have affected agriculture in many ways including through temperature, drought or sunburn-driven yield reductions or widespread damages to crops from flooding. For example, the 2021 Pacific Northwest heatwave resulted in ~60-100% losses in several fruit trees and berries in the region and the 2022 Pakistan floods resulted in losses of ~80% of the expected rice production in certain provinces. We aim to understand the impacts that climate variability and extremes have on crops in different regions. Our current work focuses on understanding the influence of El Nino and Indian Ocean Dipole - two modes of variability that affect the South Asian summer monsoons - on rice, maize and traditional grains (millets and sorghum) in India. In this project, we also investigate the influence of these modes on the compound extremes that affect these crops. We are also starting a project, working with WA state tree fruit and berry growers, to identify the extreme weather events that affect these crops, characterize near-future probabilities of such extremes and work with WSU extensions to build capacity to integrate extreme weather risk assessment into their programs.

ATMOSPHERIC RIDGES AND EXTREMES

Large-scale weather patterns have an important influence on surface climate. We study large-scale patterns that are associated with surface climate extremes on various spatial scales such as temperature extremes, heavy precipitation, and droughts. Our work showed that the occurrence of concurrent “warm-West/cool-East” surface temperature extremes, which we referred to as the “North American winter temperature dipole” are associated with anomalous mid-tropospheric ridging over western North America and downstream troughing over eastern North America. Atmospheric ridges are regions of high atmospheric pressure relative to the surroundings that are a key part of the midlatitude atmospheric circulation and are typically associated with warm and dry conditions at the surface. Recent extremes across the western US including the 2021 Pacific Northwest Heatwave and the 2020 Labor Day Fires that burned across Oregon and Washington were associated with ridges. Our recent work found that atmospheric ridges are also responsible for the widespread occurrence of wildfire smoke-related air pollutants across the western U.S. and these ridges are becoming more frequent. Although ridges are widely studied, there are still many unknowns about the atmosphere-ocean-land-surface conditions that affect their characteristics and how they are likely to change with warming. We recently received an NSF grant to advance our basic understanding of the components of the Earth system that influence atmospheric ridges over western North America and investigate how/why ridges respond to climate variability and change, with a particular focus on extreme ridges (very large, very amplified, and/or very persistent ridges). We aim to make the outcomes of this work directly relevant for planning and adaptation. We will be teaming up with the OMSI staff to build tools to educate the community about these important and fascinating atmospheric features.

CLIMATE-DRIVEN MIGRATION

Climatic changes are threatening reliable access to basic resources like food, water, clean air, and shelter, that are essential for the wellbeing and livelihoods of individuals and communities in many areas. While communities can adapt to some changes that are occurring, events such as destructive wildfires or repeated flooding from sea-level rise challenge the adaptive capacity and have resulted in the displacement of communities. The Pacific Northwest is experiencing migration of individuals and communities due to a range of such climate-driven factors. For instance, multiple tribal communities located near coastal areas are considering or are already in the process of migrating. Further, recent wildfires across the American West have contributed to climate-mobility. In Fall 2022, we received support to build an interdisciplinary framework to understand the physical, socio-economic, and household characteristics that influence migration decisions within and to the Pacific Northwest as well as examine the impacts of migration on vulnerable populations. Understanding and anticipating climate-driven migration can help inform community planning and preparedness as climate extremes become more frequent and severe and acutely affect communities around the world.

Group Members

Deepti Singh

Assistant Professor, School of the Environment, Washington State University Vancouver

Deepti Singh

Deepti is an Assistant Professor in the School of the Environment (SOE) at Washington State University Vancouver (WSUV) and leads the Climate Extremes Lab. Prior to WSU, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, received her Ph.D. in Environmental Earth System Science from Stanford University in 2015 working with Dr. Noah Diffenbaugh, a Master's in Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering from Purdue University working with Dr. Li Qiao and a Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering form Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, Pune University, India. In 2015, she was recognized as a Kavli 'Frontiers of Science' Fellow by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. She is an author on the Fifth US National Climate Assessment (NCA5).

Her work is motivated by the potential for climate science to provide usable information to minimize the risk of climate-related disasters on frontline and overburdened communities around the world. Towards this goal, she studies the physical mechanisms and impacts of individual and compound extremes, and examines the role of human activities in shaping the spatio-temporal patterns of extremes. She is passionate about building a more diverse and inclusive community of researchers and strongly believes that a more diverse community will be more effective in addressing the complex challenges facing the world today. She has developed and engaged in mentoring programs to advance gender and racial diversity at various institutions. She currently co-chairs SOE’s DEI committee and is part of a team funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Foundation to improve transfer pathways from community colleges to 4-year institutions. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, bike rides, reading, swimming, volunteering at the Blanchet House that serves the houseless community in Portland, animal rescues and other community groups, and engaging with K-12 students and community groups on climate change.

Students

Dmitri Kalashnikov

Dmitri is a third-year Ph.D. student in the School of the Environment and a NASA FINESST fellow. His research focuses on understanding the physical drivers and impacts of dry thunderstorms in the western US, which are a major ignition source of wildfires. He received his M.S. in Geography from Portland State University in 2019, where he researched large-scale meteorological patterns conducive to lightning outbreaks in the western US, and has Bachelor’s degrees in Geography from Portland State University and Earth Sciences from the University of California-Santa Cruz. He is an author on the Sixth Oregon Climate Assessment. In his spare time, Dmitri enjoys reading, hiking, and spending time with his wife and two young children.

Madhulika Gurazada

Madhulika is a third-year Ph.D. student in the School of the Environment. Her research interests include understanding the influence of natural climate variability modes on compound extremes and their impacts on food security. Her current research examines the influence of two natural climate variability modes El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) on summer monsoon grain yields in India. She received her Master's in Economics from the University of Hyderabad. Prior to joining the Doctoral Program, she was a Research Associate working on projects related to air quality and associated public health impacts in India at the Policy Institute, Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, India.

Shawn Preston

Shawn is a first-year Masters student in the School of the Environment. His current research interests revolve around understanding and analyzing extreme events such as heatwaves and examining how they can impact key agricultural areas and high-value crops. Outside of work, he enjoys walking his two dogs, spending time with his family, and reading anything within the exciting realm of geosciences.

Hugo Vasconcelos

Hugo is a fourth-year undergraduate student from Portugal/Macau majoring in Environmental Science at WSU's Vancouver campus since Fall 2021. Hugo researches the drivers of climate migration, with a focus on human migration to and within the Pacific Northwest. Some fields of interests include the impact of animal agriculture, synthetic nitrogen, and human transportation systems to vulnerable communities and environments. When not on campus, he enjoys long distance hiking, watching documentaries, playing cooperative games, and head-bobbing to funk music.

Postdocs and Researchers

Xiaoyu Bai

Xiaoyu is a postdoc at Washington State University. Her research interests are focused on large scale climate dynamics. Her masters and PhD work examined ENSO, ITCZ shift, and energetic theory. Her current research is on atmospheric ridges that are the large-scale drivers of heatwaves and droughts in the mid-latitudes. She aims to develop methods to downscale global or regional climate models to a community level to help people in their daily life. Besides research, she is a cat lady who likes embroidery, cooking, and organizing.

Yianna Bekris

Yianna is a research associate investigating how temperature extremes influence solar and wind energy potential in the United States. She obtained her M.S. in Geography from Portland State University in 2022, with her thesis on the changing probability of extreme humid-heat. She spent several years as a field technician working on phenology, fire and plant ecology, and old-growth forest research following the completion of her undergraduate degree in ecology from The Evergreen State College. In addition to a keen interest in the drivers, characteristics, and impacts of climate extremes, she hopes to leverage her ecology background to research ecosystem-atmosphere interactions. Outside the lab she enjoys hiking, plant and fungi identification, food, and music.

Lab Alumni

Dr. Cassandra Rogers

Cassandra was a postdoc at Washington State University from 2019-2021. She received her Ph.D. from Monash University, Australia in 2019. At WSU, her work employed observations and reanalyses to study the patterns, trends and mechanisms of heat extremes, including dry and humid-heat and spatially concurrent heatwaves. Her work aims to help society better prepare for and manage the implications of extreme heat. She is currently a research scientist at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.

Dr. Jitendra Singh

Jitendra was a postdoc at Washington State University from 2019-2021. He received his Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai in 2019. His research examines the patterns and dynamics of climate extremes and the local- to global-scale drivers that modulate their characteristics. At WSU, his research examined the influence of natural climate variability modes (such as El Nino and the Indian Ocean Dipole) on spatially concurrent droughts across tropical and subtropical regions and the risk of simultaneous exposure to agricultural areas and communities imposed by concurrent droughts in current and future climates. He is currently a postdoc at ETH Zurich.

Kesondra Key

Kesondra was an undergraduate researcher studying air quality impacts from wildfires in the western United States. She graduated from Washington State University Vancouver with a B.S. in Environmental Science and a minor in Biology in 2019. Upon graduating, she interned at Oak Ridge National Laboratory studying climate extremes, regional monsoons, wildfires, and extreme precipitation events. She is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Environmental Science at Indiana University with Dr. Mallory Barnes researching plant-climate interactions.

Amanda King

Amanda was an undergraduate researcher studying the mechanisms of air quality extremes in the Portland-Vancouver area. She graduated from WSUV with a B.S. in School of the Environment in 2020. She has a strong interest in understanding how climate change will alter ecosystems and studying how communities can adapt to climate change. She is interested in applying her expertise towards conservation, sustainable agriculture, and water or air quality issues and using climate change projections as a framework for pursuing a more sustainable future.

Papers

(Please email me for copies of manuscripts you might not have access to)

Publications

  1. Singh, D., T. Nishiie, and L. Qiao, 2011: Experimental and Kinetic Modeling Study of the Combustion of n-Decane, Jet-A, and S-8 in Laminar Premixed Flames. Combustion Science and Technology, 183, 1002–1026, doi:10.1080/00102202.2011.575420. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00102202.2011.575420. | PDF → online
  2. Singh, D., T. Nishiie, S. Tanvir, and L. Qiao, 2012: An experimental and kinetic study of syngas/air combustion at elevated temperatures and the effect of water addition. Fuel, 94, 448–456, doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2011.11.058. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016236111007538. | PDF → online
  3. Singh, D., M. Tsiang, B. Rajaratnam, and N. S. Diffenbaugh, 2013: Precipitation extremes over the continental United States in a transient, high-resolution, ensemble climate model experiment. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 118, 7063–7086, doi:10.1002/jgrd.50543. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jgrd.50543. → online
  4. Swain, D. L., M. Tsiang, M. Haugen, D. Singh, A. Charland, B. Rajaratnam, and N. S. Diffenbaugh, 2014: 2 . THE EXTRAORDINARY CALIFORNIA DROUGHT OF 2013 / 2014 : CHARACTER , CONTEXT , AND THE ROLE OF CLIMATE CHANGE. [in "Explaining Extremes of 2013 from a Climate Perspective"]. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 95, S3–S7. | PDF
  5. Horton, D. E., C. B. Skinner, D. Singh, and N. S. Diffenbaugh, 2014: Occurrence and persistence of future atmospheric stagnation events. Nature Clim. Change, 4, 698–703, doi:DOI:10.1038/NCLIMATE2272. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2272. → online
  6. Singh, D., M. Tsiang, B. Rajaratnam, and N. S. Diffenbaugh, 2014: Observed changes in extreme wet and dry spells during the South Asian summer monsoon season. Nature Clim. Change, 4, 456–461, doi:doi:10.1038/nclimate2208. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2208 http://10.0.4.14/nclimate2208 http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v4/n6/abs/nclimate2208.html#supplementary-information. | PDF → online
  7. Singh, D., and others, 2014: Severe precipitation in Northern India in June 2013: causes, historical context, and changes in probability. [in "Explaining Extremes of 2013 from a Climate Perspective"] Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 95, S58–S61. | PDF
  8. Mankin, J. S., D. Viviroli, D. Singh, A. Y. Hoekstra, and N. S. Diffenbaugh, 2015: The potential for snow to supply human water demand in the present and future. Environmental Research Letters, 10, 114016, doi:doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/11/114016. http://stacks.iop.org/1748-9326/10/i=11/a=114016. | PDF → online
  9. Horton, D. E., N. C. Johnson, D. Singh, D. L. Swain, B. Rajaratnam, and N. S. Diffenbaugh, 2015: Contribution of changes in atmospheric circulation patterns to extreme temperature trends. Nature, 522, 465–469, doi:doi:10.1038/nature14550. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature14550 http://10.0.4.14/nature14550. → online
  10. Singh, D., D. L. Swain, J. S. Mankin, D. E. Horton, L. N. Thomas, B. Rajaratnam, and N. S. Diffenbaugh, 2016: Recent amplification of the North American winter temperature dipole. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 121, 9911–9928, doi:10.1002/2016JD025116. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2016JD025116. | PDF → online
  11. Swain, D. L., D. E. Horton, D. Singh, and N. S. Diffenbaugh, 2016: Trends in atmospheric patterns conducive to seasonal precipitation and temperature extremes in California. Science Advances, 2, doi:DOI:10.1126/sciadv.1501344. http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/4/e1501344.abstract. | PDF → online
  12. DeFries, R., P. Mondal, D. Singh, I. Agrawal, J. Fanzo, R. Remans, and S. Wood, 2016: Synergies and trade-offs for sustainable agriculture: Nutritional yields and climate-resilience for cereal crops in Central India. Global Food Security, doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2016.07.001. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211912416300141. | PDF → online
  13. Singh, D., 2016: South Asian monsoon: Tug of war on rainfall changes. Nature Clim. Change, 6, 20–22, doi:doi:10.1038/nclimate2901. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2901 http://10.0.4.14/nclimate2901. | PDF → online
  14. Cook, B. I., A. P. Williams, J. S. Mankin, R. Seager, J. E. Smerdon, and D. Singh, 2017: Revisiting the leading drivers of Pacific coastal drought variability in the Contiguous United States. Journal of Climate, doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-17-0172.1. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-17-0172.1. → online
  15. Raymond, C., D. Singh, and R. Horton, 2017: Spatiotemporal Patterns and Synoptics of Extreme Wet-Bulb Temperature in the Contiguous United States. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, doi:10.1002/2017JD027140. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2017JD027140. → online
  16. Swain, D. L., D. Singh, D. E. Horton, J. S. Mankin, T. C. Ballard, and N. S. Diffenbaugh, 2017: Remote Linkages to Anomalous Winter Atmospheric Ridging Over the Northeastern Pacific. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 122, doi:10.1002/2017JD026575. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2017JD026575. → online
  17. Diffenbaugh, N. S., D. Singh, and Others, 2017: Quantifying the influence of global warming on unprecedented extreme climate events. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114, 4881–4886, doi:10.1073/pnas.1618082114. → online
  18. Smerdon, J. E., and others, 2017: Comparing proxy and model estimates of hydroclimate variability and change over the Common Era. Climate of the Past Discussions, doi:10.5194/cp-2017-37. https://www.clim-past-discuss.net/cp-2017-37/. → online
  19. Diffenbaugh, N. S., D. Singh, and J. S. Mankin, 2018: Unprecedented climate events: Historical changes, aspirational targets, and national commitments. Science Advances, 4, doi:10.1126/sciadv.aao3354. http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/2/eaao3354. → online
  20. Davis, K. F., D. D. Chiarelli, M. C. Rulli, A. Chhatre, B. Richter, D. Singh, and R. DeFries, 2018: Alternative cereals can improve water use and nutrient supply in India. Science Advances, 4, doi:10.1126/sciadv.aao1108. http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/7/eaao1108. → online
  21. Singh, D., M. Ting, A. A. Scaife, and N. Martin, 2018: California Winter Precipitation Predictability: Insights from the anomalous 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. Geophysical Research Letters, 45, doi:10.1029/2018GL078844. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2018GL078844. → online
  22. Cohen, J., and others, 2018: Arctic change and possible influence on mid-latitude climate and weather: a US CLIVAR White Paper. doi:10.5065/D6TH8KGW. → online
  23. Singh, D., R. Seager, B. I. Cook, M. Cane, M. Ting, E. Cook, and M. Davis, 2018: Climate and the Global Famine of 1876–78. Journal of Climate, 31, 9445–9467, doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-18-0159.1. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-18-0159.1. → online
  24. Singh, D., S. P. McDermid, B. I. Cook, M. J. Puma, L. Nazarenko, and M. Kelley, 2018: Distinct Influences of Land Cover and Land Management on Seasonal Climate. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 123, 12,017–012,039, doi:10.1029/2018JD028874. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2018JD028874. → online
  25. Bishop, D. A., and others, 2019: Investigating the causes of increased 20th-century fall precipitation over the southeastern United States. Journal of Climate, In press, doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-18-0244.1. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-18-0244.1. → online
  26. Singh, D., 2019: Implications of a Varying Observational Network for Accurately Estimating Recent Climate Trends. Geophysical Research Letters, 46, 5430–5435, doi:10.1029/2019GL082330. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2019GL082330. → online
  27. Davis, K. F., A. Chhatre, N. D. Rao, D. Singh, and R. DeFries, 2019: Sensitivity of grain yields to historical climate variability in India. Environmental Research Letters, 14, 064013, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ab22db. https://doi.org/10.1088%2F1748-9326%2Fab22db. → online
  28. Singh, D., S. Ghosh, M. K. Roxy, and S. McDermid, 2019: Indian summer monsoon: Extreme events, historical changes, and role of anthropogenic forcings. WIREs Climate Change, 10, e571, doi:10.1002/wcc.571. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/wcc.571. → online
  29. Seth, A., A. Giannini, M. Rojas, S. A. Rauscher, S. Bordoni, D. Singh, and S. J. Camargo, 2019: Monsoon Responses to Climate Changes—Connecting Past, Present and Future. Current Climate Change Reports, 5, 63–79, doi:10.1007/s40641-019-00125-y. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40641-019-00125-y. → online
  30. Davis, K. F., and others, 2019: Assessing the sustainability of post-Green Revolution cereals in India. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116, 25034–25041, doi:10.1073/pnas.1910935116. https://www.pnas.org/content/116/50/25034. → online
  31. Singh, D., M. Bollasina, M. Ting, and N. S. Diffenbaugh, 2019: Disentangling the influence of local and remote anthropogenic aerosols on South Asian monsoon daily rainfall characteristics. Climate Dynamics, doi:10.1007/s00382-018-4512-9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-018-4512-9. → online
  32. Diffenbaugh, N. S., and others, 2020: The COVID-19 lockdowns: a window into the Earth System. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 1, 470–481, doi:10.1038/s43017-020-0079-1. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-0079-1. → online
  33. Mishra, V., K. Thirumalai, D. Singh, and S. Aadhar, 2020: Future exacerbation of hot and dry summer monsoon extremes in India. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, 3, 10, doi:10.1038/s41612-020-0113-5. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-020-0113-5. → online
  34. Swain, D. L., D. Singh, D. Touma, and N. S. Diffenbaugh, 2020: Attributing Extreme Events to Climate Change: A New Frontier in a Warming World. One Earth, 2, 522–527, doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2020.05.011. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590332220302475. → online
  35. Choksi, P., D. Singh, J. Singh, P. Mondal, H. Nagendra, J. Urpelainen, and R. DeFries, 2021: Sensitivity of seasonal migration to climatic variability in central India. Environmental Research Letters, 16, 064074, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ac046f. https://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac046f. → online
  36. Rogers, C. D. W., M. Ting, C. Li, K. Kornhuber, E. D. Coffel, R. M. Horton, C. Raymond, and D. Singh, 2021: Recent Increases in Exposure to Extreme Humid-Heat Events Disproportionately Affect Populated Regions. Geophysical Research Letters, 48, e2021GL094183, doi:https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL094183. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2021GL094183. → online
  37. Singh, D., A. Karambelas, A. Chhatre, R. DeFries, P. Kinney, and K. F. Davis, 2021: A systems lens to evaluate the compound human health impacts of anthropogenic activities. One Earth, 4, 1233–1247, doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2021.08.006. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590332221004644. → online
  38. Singh, J., M. Ashfaq, C. B. Skinner, W. B. Anderson, and D. Singh, 2021: Amplified risk of spatially compounding droughts during co-occurrences of modes of natural ocean variability. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, 4, 7, doi:10.1038/s41612-021-00161-2. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-021-00161-2. → online
  39. Ebi, K. L., and others, 2021: Nutritional quality of crops in a high CO2 world: an agenda for research and technology development. Environmental Research Letters, 16, 064045, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/abfcfa. https://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abfcfa. → online
  40. Singh, J., M. Ashfaq, C. B. Skinner, W. B. Anderson, V. Mishra, and D. Singh, 2022: Enhanced risk of concurrent regional droughts with increased ENSO variability and warming. Nature Climate Change, 12, 163–170, doi:10.1038/s41558-021-01276-3. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01276-3. → online
  41. Touma, D., S. Stevenson, D. L. Swain, D. Singh, D. A. Kalashnikov, and X. Huang, 2022: Climate change increases risk of extreme rainfall following wildfire in the western United States. Science Advances, 8, eabm0320, doi:10.1126/sciadv.abm0320. https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/sciadv.abm0320. → online
  42. Kalashnikov, D. A., J. L. Schnell, J. T. Abatzoglou, D. L. Swain, and D. Singh, 2022: Increasing co-occurrence of fine particulate matter and ground-level ozone extremes in the western United States. Science Advances, 8, eabi9386, doi:10.1126/sciadv.abi9386. https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/sciadv.abi9386. → online
  43. Rogers, C. D. W., K. Kornhuber, S. E. Perkins-Kirkpatrick, P. C. Loikith, and D. Singh, 2022: Sixfold Increase in Historical Northern Hemisphere Concurrent Large Heatwaves Driven by Warming and Changing Atmospheric Circulations. Journal of Climate, 35, 1063–1078, doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-21-0200.1. https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/clim/35/3/JCLI-D-21-0200.1.xml. → online
  44. Kalashnikov, D. A., J. T. Abatzoglou, N. J. Nauslar, D. L. Swain, D. Touma, and D. Singh, 2022: Meteorological and geographical factors associated with dry lightning in central and northern California. Environmental Research: Climate, 1, 025001, doi:10.1088/2752-5295/ac84a0. https://dx.doi.org/10.1088/2752-5295/ac84a0. → online
  45. Loikith, P. C., D. Singh, and G. P. Taylor, 2022: Projected Changes in Atmospheric Ridges over the Pacific–North American Region Using CMIP6 Models. Journal of Climate, 35, 5151–5171, doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-21-0794.1. https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/clim/35/15/JCLI-D-21-0794.1.xml. → online
  46. Raymond, C., and others, 2022: Regional and elevational patterns of extreme heat stress change in the US. Environmental Research Letters, 17, 064046, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ac7343. https://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac7343. → online
  47. Ting, M., C. Lesk, C. Liu, C. Li, R. M. Horton, E. D. Coffel, C. D. W. Rogers, and D. Singh, 2023: Contrasting impacts of dry versus humid heat on US corn and soybean yields. Scientific Reports, 13, 710, doi:10.1038/s41598-023-27931-7. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-27931-7. → online

Teaching

Following are the courses I currently teach at WSU.

How the Earth's Climate System Works

An introductory course on changes in Earth’s climate, the influence human activities have had on recent changes, their impacts on human well-being, and the mitigation strategies, economic solutions and policies to minimize future climate change. Topics include the Earth's climate system, long-term evolution of Earth’s climate, natural and anthropogenic sources of climate change, climate projections, impacts of climate change on human well-being, adaptation and mitigation strategies, basis for economic and policy solutions, and climate politics. (Spring semester)

Environmental and Climate Justice

An upper-level, interdisciplinary course that explores the intersection of climate, environmental and social justice including the disproportionate distribution of climate change impacts on frontline communities around the world, causes of climate change, attribution of climate change and climate impacts, just transition frameworks, environmental and climate justice movements, history of environmental racism, roots of inequities (e.g. redlining, colonialism), indigenous rights, role of governance, and mechanisms to achieve climate justice. (Even Fall Semesters)

Climate Change Impacts on Physical, Natural and Human Systems

An advanced course on the scientific understanding of the role of human activities in shaping climate change and methods to study climate impacts on physical, natural and human systems. Topics include global environmental change indicators, radiative forcings, climate sensitivity, earth system feedbacks, natural climate variability and anthropogenic sources, introduction to physical climate models, detection and attribution of climate change and extreme events, climate impacts on extremes, food security, water resources, and public health, projections of climate change and climate impacts, and sources of uncertainties. (Odd Fall semester)

Academic Service

OUTREACH

I am enthusiastic about educating young and adult members of the community on topics related to the science of climate change, climate impacts, and clean energy opportunities. Through lectures, hands-on workshops and online forums, I frequently engage in educational activites. Below is a flavor of some of these activities.

Youth Science Engagement

Over the years, I have engaged in tutoring and mentoring activities with high-school students through various programs including - the college-bound program of the Boys and Girls Girls Club of the Peninsula (2010-2015), Stanford Medical Youth Program (2011), and the Lamont Secondary School Field Research program (2016). Many of the students I interacted with through these programs became first generation college students. I have also been a panelist for Early Career Researcher panel discussions for high-school groups visiting Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

Workshops

I enjoy developing hands-on activities get younger students excited about science and engineering. With the Purdue Energy Club, I conducted a number of workshops for students in the Lafayette, Indiana area to educate them about clean energy technologies like solar, wind, and hydro, when I was a graduate student at Purdue (2008-2010). At Stanford, I organized workshops for middle and high-school students during Stanford Splash events. With members of the Women in Earth Sciences group at Stanford, I organized a workshop on Climate Change and Clean Energy for the Girls in Science Day in 2015 organized by the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula.

Public Talks and Panels

I gave two talks at the Stanford Science Circle for High-School Students in 2014 with over 50 participants from schools around the Bay Area: Generation Anthropocene: the age of human-induced changes in the Earth System and Indian Summer Monsoon and its Changing Character. With Dr. Diffenbaugh and other graduate students, I was a panelist for the Stanford Continuing Studies Program (2015) widely attended by members of the Bay Area community Earth Matters: A Matter of Degrees. With Daniel Horton, I organized a breakout session at Stanford Connecting the Dots (2014), a popular event for the Stanford and wider community: Weather going wild: Will global warming lead to more extremes? .