Global connections between El Niño and landslide impacts

El Niño is a critical part of global inter-annual climate variability, and the intensity of El Niño has major implications for rainfall-induced natural hazards in many vulnerable countries. The impact of landslides triggered by rainfall is likely to be modulated by the strength of El Niño, but the nature of this connection and the places where it is most relevant remains unconstrained. Here we combine new satellite rainfall data with a global landslide exposure model to show that El Niño has far-reaching effects on landslide impacts to people and infrastructure. We find that the impact of El Niño on landslide exposure can be greater in parts of Southeast Asia and Latin America than that due to seasonal rainfall variability. These findings improve our understanding of hazard variability around the world and can assist disaster mitigation efforts on seasonal timescales.

Robert Emberson, Dalia Kirschbaum, Thomas Stanley