Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Distinguished Lecture Series: Challenges of the Accelerated Global Warming and the Intensification of Climate Extremity

In 2025, the global average surface temperature was recorded at 1.40°C above pre-industrial levels. The past 3 years (2023–2025) have marked the warmest period in the instrumental record, indicating that the planet is entering an era of accelerated warming.This report emphasises the multifaceted challenges posed by rapid warming and increasing climate extremity, which manifests as unprecedented heatwaves, frequent droughts, intensified heavy precipitation, and escalating compound extreme events. These changes have resulted in impacts on public health, ecosystems, agriculture, water security, and renewable energy infrastructure.

A core challenge is deepening our understanding of climate extremes, requiring comprehensive integration of Earth system components, interactions across timescales, and the synergy between natural variability and human influences. Increasing climate extremity complicates climate prediction. Integrating statistical-dynamic models with artificial intelligence to improve sub-seasonal to interannual predictions, as well as longer-term projections, remains highly challenging. Developing real-time prediction systems and operational forecasting services is crucial for enhancing societal resilience and adaptation strategies in the face of global warming and climate extremes.